Jackson Family Dynasty
by IvyRaven03
Summary: The sequel to "Two Hearts. One Dream." Lola and Michael are trying to live a normal life with their rather large family. When the brothers decide it's time for them to return to the stage, Michael will have to step in and take control, once again.
1. Chapter 1

"Ahem...what exactly do you think that you are doing?"

I jumped up from under the hood of my car and hit my head in the process. "Ow! Son of a..."

"Lola..."

I turned, rubbing my head, and saw LaToya standing in the driveway with her hands on her hips and her foot tapping on the ground. I raised up from my car and walked towards her.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to fix my car. Is that okay with you?" I asked, annoyed.

"Meow!" LaToya teased. "Sorry I keep forgetting about the pregnancy hormones. But really, Lola...working on your car while you're pregnant isn't the best idea. Why don't you just call Jermaine and ask him to come and help you?"

"No way. He taught me plenty since I met you all. I don't need him...I'm an independant woman anyway," I brushed my shoulders off and returned to my car.

"Lola..." LaToya groaned. "You know Michael isn't gonna like this."

I whipped around and quirked an eyebrow at her. "Are you gonna run and tell on me now?" She shrugged and then shook her head. "Okay then. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a carbarator that needs replacing."

LaToya grunted and went back into the house. I dove head first into the engine and got to work. Neveah was almost six years old now and I was four months pregnant with our first son, Prince Michael. We lived in a place Michael had named Wonderland. It was a gorgeous house. Neveah wasn't happy about leaving Neverland at all until Michael had taken us to see the house before he had bought it.

The house we now lived in was a dream. It had ten bedrooms and almost all of the doors of the house were completely bullet-proof. When Michael had mentioned that to me, it made me a little nervous. What in the world crossed his mind and had him thinking we needed something like that, I'll never know. It also had secret tunnels which Neveah had fallen in love with. Her favorite part of Wonderland was a giant cave that held the guest suite.

When we had first seen the house, there was an underground shooting range built in. Michael told me he planned on turning that into a recording studio, which he had done in time for us to move in shortly after his final concert.

I finished installing the new carberator and slammed the hood down. I jumped into the car and started it up, only to hear it stall and blow black exhaust out from the tailpipe.

"Oh...great. Now what?" I grumbled. I climbed back out and looked around, sighing.

"Well, I'm glad you decided to pull the car out of the garage before you started working on it. The floor would've been a mess," a man's voice chuckled behind me. I turned and saw Tito standing there with his new guitar and he grinned at me. "How are you, girl?"

I began to walk towards him to give him a hug and he put his hand up. I shrugged after I had noticed that I was completely covered in oil. "I've been okay. How've you been? And where did you get the new guitar?"

"Ah, this is what I had just ordered. You wanna see it?" he asked. I nodded and he set it on the hood of his car and opened it. It was a gorgeous deep red color and it had his name on it. It was the same design as his father's old guitar that he had learned to play on as a child.

"Tito...it's gorgeous. I'm amazed," I leaned over it and he grinned. After a moment, he put it back into the case and headed inside. I figured I might as well go in and clean up. Neveah would be up from her nap by now and most likely pestering the crud out of Michael.

'Crap...Michael. I've got to make it to the shower before he sees me or I'll be in for an hour lecture,' I thought. I slowly snuck in through the garage door and quietly walked up the stairs. I peaked around each corner and stayed as silent as possible. 'I may just make it...if I can just get down the hall...'

"I'm still faster than you, Daddy!" Neveah's voice rang out from down the hallway.

"Hey, I may be old but I can still get you!" Michael yelled.

'No...no, Neveah...run the other direction!' I mentally yelled as I hid around the corner from the hall. Neveah flew past me with Michael hot on her trail. He caught up with her just as she had reached the stairs and tackled her to the ground, tickling her.

"Whose the fastest now?" he laughed.

"Okay, Daddy! You win! Stop!" she giggled.

"Say mercy!" he smiled.

"Nooo! Mommy help!" she yelled when she saw me over Michael's shoulder. I gulped and turned to run down the hallway. Michael stopped and turned to face me and then froze.

"Lola Marie Jackson..." he grumbled. I gulped and turned to face him. I gave him an innocent smile, though my face was also covered with dirt and oil. "What have you been doing?" he asked with his hands on his hips.

"Uhh...making mud pies?" I attempted to look cute and Neveah giggled.

"Try again," he said, this time folding his arms.

I groaned. "Mike...come on! The Mustang needs work and I need to get some of it done!"

"Lola...normally I wouldn't mind but you're pregnant. I don't want you breathing in all of that nasty exhaust and dust. You could make yourself sick. Besides, why can't you just wait for Jermaine to do it for you?"

"Ugh..._for_ me? No. I wanna be independent, Michael. And I know the risks. I _am _the head nurse at Progressive Hospital, remember?" I reminded him.

"Yeah, I know. But I worry about you," he walked over to me and wiped some dust off of my nose. I took his hand and smiled weakly. I opened my mouth to speak and he kissed me. "Don't argue, Lola. I'm always gonna worry. It's my job, just like it's your job to worry about me and Neveah....and being clumsy, of course." I frowned and he grinned. "Get yourself cleaned up. I'll go and call Jermaine and see when he can come over."

"You'll be waisting your time. He's in Africa shooting a video right now," I stated simply.

"Oh. Well I guess we will have to wait on getting your car fixed until he comes back, or after you've given birth."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah right."

"Lola...if I have to chain up the toolbox in the garage..." he warned.

"Leave her alone, Mike. She will do what she wants to do whether you like it or not," Tito came in and took off his sunglasses. Michael slumped his shoulders and walked down the stairs with him. Neveah followed closely behind. She was her Uncle Tito's shadow whenever he was around. She adored the guys so much. Her favorite seemed to be Marlon. He was always the one that played with her the most.

After my shower, I came down the stairs to join my small family for lunch. Kai had prepared a nice organic meal for us. By that time, Jackie and Marlon had shown up.

"Something smells good," Marlon smiled, rubbing his hands together.

"Sit down, boys. There's plenty for everyone," I smiled. Michael hugged his brothers and winked at me. Neveah sat between her father and Marlon. The guys began talking about going back on tour. They hadn't been on stage since the reunion concert. They really missed performing. Jermaine was already out shooting a music video.

"So, what are your plans now?" Michael asked them.

"So far, we're just waiting on Jermaine to get back. Once he's back, we plan on hitting the studio. We have a few tempos we'd like you to hear later, if you don't mind," Tito said.

"Not at all," Michael smiled.

After we ate, Marlon went to Neveah's room with her to play some video games. Another thing about my daughter, she wasn't into fancy girl things like dolls and tea parties. She liked electronics. I don't know why or who she even got that from. She did have some musical talent which she had undoubtedly received from her father.

"We're gonna head down to the studio for a while, dear. Don't do something you know I won't like," Michael warned me. I gave him an innocent look and he gave me a warning look in return.

"Okay, okay," I threw my hands up in defense and he smiled and kissed me.

"Thank you," he winked.

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled as I watched him and Tito walk out the door. When they left, I turned to Jackie. "I'm going back to the garage. Don't tell your brother, or I'll be forced to remove my shoe, again." I threatened my brother-in-law.

"Hey no need for threats. I was actually planning on offering to help, miss attitude."

"Well, I guess I could always use the entertainment," I smiled and he rolled his eyes.

We walked out to the garage and I pulled my car out into the driveway and popped the hood. Jackie grabbed a dirty towel and checked the oil for me.

"What are you doing?" I quirked a brow at him.

"Checking your oil. I said I was gonna help, not stand there and look pretty for you while you do all the dirty work," he said, folding his arms.

"If you say so," I shrugged and dug into the engine. "We need some music or something."

Jackie smiled and started singing one of the old Jackson 5 songs, _Can You Feel It?_ and I smiled and sang along with him. After the first part of the song, I backed away from the hood and started dancing with my crazy brother-in-law. He taught me some of the old moves they had done on stage in the early years.

After the song ended, we both panted and laughed. "That was so much fun. Thank you," I panted.

"Anytime. Just don't tell anyone. Those moves are supposed to be sacred," he said sarcastically.

"Yeah, okay. If you say so," I smiled.

"Hey, let's play the "what if" game," he suggested.

"Beg your pardon?" I asked.

"The "what if" game. It's a lot of fun. Don't tell me you've never heard of it."

"Isn't that the game where..."

"It's self explanatory, Lola. Geeze," he laughed.

"Alright, fine. You start," I put my hand on my hip and waited as he thought.

"What would you do if you were chased by banana-throwing zombie monkeys?"

"What?" I laughed.

"Just answer the question."

I thought for a minute. "I'd throw them back and jump into the nearest pool." Jackie raised a brow at me. "What? They can't swim," I shrugged.

"Okay, you're turn to ask me," he grinned.

"Hm...okay, what would you do if you ever actually beat Michael in the water war?"

"Oh hell, that's easy. I'd celebrate like crazy!"

We went on with the game for a little while as I worked more on my car. Again, I was covered in dirt and oil and Jackie had me laughing until I was in tears. I had small lines under my eyes where the tears had fallen down my cheeks over the dirt on my skin.

"What would you do if Michael bought you something nice for no reason at all?" he asked.

I laughed. "Ha! Come on, when does he _not _buy me something nice for no reason. That was too obvious. What would you do if you got to play Michael Jordan at basketball?"

"I'd lose," he said simply. We both laughed. "Okay, let's do a serious one now," Jackie said. "I just have to know this, Lola, but it may be a bit rough. You don't have to answer if it's too difficult, okay?" I nodded slowly and turned, leaning against the front of my car. "What would you do if Will hadn't passed away?"

I paused for a minute and tried to ignore that familiar pain that threatened to dig into my once shattered heart. I took a few breaths and then smiled weakly. "I couldn't tell you, Jack. I miss him dearly, and I will miss him for the rest of my life, but I believe every thing happens for a reason, you know? I lost Will, but I gained Michael because of that. I lost my mother, and then I gained an entire family. Life is kind of like a game. You win some, you lose some, but you always learn from every move you make."

Jackie smiled and then hugged me, not caring if he got oil and dirt on himself. "I wish I could've met Will, but I'm glad you were brought to us, Lola. I feel like our family has an even stronger bond now that you're a part of it."

I blushed and pushed his shoulder. "Enough of that now. Next question. Who would win in a basketball match between you and Mike?"

"Oh come on, that's me. When we were growing up, me being the oldest, I was around way before we even started dancing and singing. I spent a lot of my time on the basketball court before Michael was even born. After the Jackson 5 started, it was still me on the court while Michael spent his time watching professional singers all the time. So yes, I'd win that hands down." He brushed his shoulders off and I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, don't get too egotistical, dear brother. You're turn."

"Um..." he paused as he glanced over my shoulder. "What would you do if we were caught red handed by one of our brothers?" I looked at him for a minute and turned around to see Marlon standing there with his arms folded.

"My turn, what would you do in order to keep Marlon from telling Michael on your sneaky little butts?" Marlon smiled evilly.

"Ugh," I groaned.

"Come on," Jackie mumbled and put his hands on his hips.

"Alright," I sighed. "What's it gonna take for you to keep your big mouth shut?" I asked. "And where's Neveah?"

"She's with Mike and Tito..." he walked around and looked at my car. "Did you finish what you started with this thing?" he asked as he ran his hand over the car. I nodded and he jumped in the driver's seat and started it up, revving the engine and then turning it back off. "Nice. Okay, I won't tell on two conditions. One, I want both of you to wash my car and fix it up for me. I can never get Jermaine to do it for me. He's always so busy with the recording stuff. And two...I want you to make me your home made cheesecake, Lola."

I laughed and Jackie rolled his eyes. "Geeze."

I elbowed him and nodded. "Alright as long as you plan on keeping your little brother busy while I work on your car, consider it done."

Marlon agreed and Jackie rolled his eyes. "Somehow, this is gonna blow up in our faces, I just know it."

_**Meanwhile...**_

"So, what do you think?" Tito asked Mike after he played a track for him.

"I really like it. Good job, Tito. Who came up with the tempo?"

"Actually, it was the guys in the studio in Vegas. They came up with a rough idea and Jermaine and myself did the rest."

"What about Marlon and Jackie?" Michael asked.

"I don't know what they wanna do," Tito grumbled.

Michael sensed there was some kind of tension between his brothers. "Talk to me. What's going on with you guys?"

Tito chose his words carefully. "I don't know what's going to happen, Mike. Ever since you left, Jermaine and I felt the need to get back on stage. We felt like we needed to show the fans we still had what it takes to put on a great show. Jermaine got everything set up, picked the studio and everything. But now it seems Marlon and Jackie aren't really up to it."

"They don't wanna do it?" he asked.

"They say they do, and they've shown up to the studio when we needed them to, but when we try to come up with more tracks to work with, we can never seem to get them both into the studio to discuss it."

"Have you talked to them about this?"

"Yes, we've tried. Jermaine eventually got too frustrated and he had to leave for Africa. He left angry and we never do that. You of all people know we never leave an argument open for any reason. We've always made peace before parting ways, but not this time." Tito put his hand over his face and sighed deeply.

Michael chewed on his lip in deep thought. He knew this was eating Tito alive. He wasn't even the elder brother, yet he took on the job long ago. "I wish I knew what to say to fix things, Tito."

"You can't, Mike. You've always been the one to break up the fights, but we've gotta learn to handle this ourselves. You won't always be around and I hate to even think about that."

"Then don't. Why don't you just rest on it. Try to make peace with Jackie and Marlon. When Jermaine gets back, I'll call a meeting and we can all sit down and discuss things properly. No more of this nonsense will continue under my watch."

Tito smiled and hugged Michael. He thanked him and left. By the time he and the other brothers had gone home, I had already showered again and got myself and Neveah ready for bed. Michael walked upstairs and joined us in Neveah's bedroom.

"Hey," he smiled at me and Neveah. I was sitting on the edge of her bed and she was already tucked in.

"Right on time," I smiled. He leaned over and kissed Neveah on her head and sat down next to me. Neveah smiled and took Michael's hand as we sang the Spanish lullaby to her. We had sang that song to her every single night since the day she was born. Michael and I harmonized quite well together, and we never grew tired of that song.

After we finished, Neveah rubbed her eyes and yawned. I smiled and kissed her head. "I love you, little angel," I whispered.

Michael followed my actions. "Te quiero, poco uno," he whispered. He helped me up off of her bed and she yawned again.

"I love you too, Momma and Daddy," she stifled another yawn and we smiled at her and went to our own room for the night.


	2. Chapter 2

As Michael and I changed for bed, he gave me a funny look and I eyed him. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

He shook his head and smiled at me as his eyes traveled over my body. I blushed and turned my back to him and began buttoning up my top. He walked up behind me and breathed lightly on the back of my neck. I shivered and he grinned.

"Why must you always do this to me?" I groaned.

"Because I like to torture you, of course. Another part of my job," he winked. "Besides, I can't get over how beautiful you are. I can't believe you're mine."

"Okay, stop it. You know I don't see myself that way," I grumbled as I walked away from him. He sighed and sat on the edge of our bed. "I'm lucky to even have you in my life, Mike."

"Why is it so difficult for you to take compliments? If it's because of Russel…"

"No," I interrupted. He gave me a look and I bit my lip and looked away. "Yes. Ugh, I don't know. Maybe…I'm just not used to compliments is all."

"Well, you should be by now. Lola, sweetheart, I know I messed up a few times and that jerk was able to hurt you. Even after I promised to keep you safe, and Neveah as well, somehow I slipped up and he got to you. I won't allow it to happen again, I promise you that."

"What does that have to do with compliments?" I asked. "And you didn't mess up. I'm the one that…"

"Okay, let's not play the blame game here. The fact is, he insulted you constantly and I won't allow anyone to hurt you like that again. I love you, Lola. So get used to compliments. Don't argue with me when I give you one, because you know I will never stop." I gave him a look and he gave me a lopsided grin in return.

"If you say so," I shrugged and went back to buttoning the rest of my shirt. I sighed at myself in the mirror and Michael got up and wrapped his arms around me. I leaned against him and closed my eyes as he kissed my neck lightly and hummed to me.

"Lola…" he breathed.

"Hm?"

"You know, what I'd wish for if I could have anything in the world?"

I opened my eyes lazily and looked at our reflection in the mirror. He glanced at me and smiled and I smiled back. "What?"

He drew in a deep breath and wrapped his arms tighter around me. ""I wish I could change myself into a camera whenever I wanted to."

I giggled and gave him a weird look. "And why is that?"

"Just so I could take a picture with my mind and put it in a frame for you to see just how beautiful you really are to me," he whispered and kissed my cheek.

"Aw, Mikey," I smiled and turned in his arms, kissing him passionately. "I love you so much."

"Love you more," he grinned.

I rolled my eyes and we crawled into bed. "So, how's Tito doing these days?"

Michael paused and looked at me. "He's…okay."

"Just okay? What's wrong?"

"I don't know. He and the guys are having a hard time getting along lately."

"Oh?" I quirked a brow at him and he nodded.

"Yeah, they seemed to be going in the right direction at first, but then they began arguing so much and Tito doesn't know what to do."

"I see. What did you say to him?"

"I told him they all needed to sit down and discuss things as soon as Jermaine got back. I'm not about to let them blow their big dream of returning to the stage over some stupid argument."

"What was the argument about?"

"According to Tito, only he and Jermaine have their hearts set on getting back to performing. Marlon and Jackie can't seem to stop joking around." Michael rolled his eyes as he spoke.

"That does sound like them. Mike, honey, you can't always keep people from fighting. I know you want to keep the peace, especially with them being family, but you can't always play the peacemaker."

"I know," he sighed. "In a way, I'm glad Tito came to me with this information, but then again I kind of feel like he's depending on me to fix it for him. I was always the peace keeper in the family as we were growing up. They are all grown men. They can't rely on my forever."

I felt so bad for my husband. He was so torn between doing the right thing and letting his brothers try to figure this out for themselves. Though I hated to think about it, Michael was right. They couldn't rely on him forever. They had families of their own that were relying on them. That's another reason why they wanted to get back to performing. They had families to support. So did Michael and myself.

"Well, the only thing that seems reasonable in my opinion would be for you to give them a boost and then let them take care of the rest. Sit down with them when Jermaine gets back and allow them to make their peace. After that, let them work it out for themselves. That way, you won't be abandoning them and you won't be doing this for them either." I winked as he smiled widely at me.

"And you call me the smart one in the family?" He leaned over and kissed me.

"I learned it all from you, my dear," I grinned and he rolled his eyes.

The next day, Michael decided it was time for Neveah to enjoy her first real water war. He explained to her many times about the war and how he was impossible to beat and she had yet to participate in one of these events. He had taken her to the theater a few times and showed her some of the private home movies. She giggled and clapped and couldn't wait to be a part of the fun. Imagine her excitement when Michael told her today was her day to join in the fun.

Michael invited Mac over and they walked outside to prepare the balloons and the super soakers. As I stood in the kitchen with Kai, Marlon walked by and I threw my shoe at him to get his attention.

"Okay…seriously?" he grumbled as he picked up my shoe that had just hit him in the butt. "You need to find out a more nicer way to get my attention. You could put an eye out!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, if I were aiming for your eye. Moron. Now come over here."

He dragged his feet over to me and handed me my shoe back. "You are so mean to me."

"Yeah, whatever. Look, Mike is having the water war today. If you still want me and Jackie to work on your stupid car, you have to take this chance and distract him."

Marlon groaned. "Ugh, I really didn't plan on getting soaked today."

"Deal with it. If you don't do it today, it may never get done."

"Okay okay, fine. I'll do what I can. You still owe me a cheesecake by the way."

I pushed him out the door and he laughed and ran out to meet up with everyone else. After Jackie came out of the guest suite, we sat down together near the doors leading to the side yard where Michael had announced it would be their war arena. I had to laugh at his choice of words.

"Okay, so what's our team name?" Mike asked Neveah. She twirled the balloon in her hand as she thought real hard.

"Legends of Doom!" Michael quirked a brow at her and she grinned widely.

"Okay," he laughed. "Legends of Doom, it is!"

I giggled as he gave me a look. I knew what he was thinking. She got that innocent grin from me. I think she got her looks from him, to be honest. I watched as they prepared the last of their ammo and Mike poked his head in the door and kissed my cheek.

"Hey you," I smiled at him.

"Hey. Are you sure you don't wanna be in on this? Come on, I'll let you be on my team this time."

"No thanks, Peter. Go have fun. I have a few things to do around the house anyway."

Michael gave me a look and then glanced at Kai. "Make sure the ladders are put away and her keys are hidden."

I frowned at him and he winked and walked back outside. Kai just nodded at him and laughed. She knew what me and Jackie were planning to do and she was on my side. She said she would've done the same thing had she been in my position.

After the war began, Jackie and I snuck out to the other side of the house and began working on his car. Jackie popped the hood and found a note in the driver's seat. He looked it over and then laughed and shook his head.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"He made us a list of what needs to be done. I can't believe it!" He laughed even more and I snatched the note and looked it over.

"Whatever," I snorted as I wadded it up and threw it into a nearby trashcan. "Anyway…" I dug into the engine and began working. Jackie rolled himself under the car and changed the oil. He looked up at me through a whole in the engine and gave me a goofy look, only to have oil leak out all over his face.

"Ugh, nasty…" he grumbled. I laughed at him and threw a towel at him.

_**Meanwhile…**_

Michael and the others were running around the yard laughing like crazy. Neveah had nailed a few of her cousins that decided to show up. Jermaine's children and Rebbie's showed up along with Tito's boys and Jackie's kids as well. She was beginning to be quite proud of herself.

"Look out," Michael snatched her up and behind a tree and saved her from Mac and his water bucket. "Make sure you watch your back, silly. You know some people don't fight fair," he raised his voice as he spoke and Mac laughed as he heard this.

"You don't either, Apple Head!" he protested. Michael laughed and they continued to chase each other through the yard.

Marlon stopped and got an idea on how to finally nail his brother and finally break his winning streak. "Psst, Neveah, come here a minute."

Neveah shook her head and pointed a water gun at him. "I'm not falling for that, Uncle Marlon!"

"No!" he threw his hands up to show her he wasn't armed. "I wanna make a deal with you, that's all."

Neveah eyed him and lowered her weapon and walked slowly over to him. "What's the deal?"

Marlon grinned at his niece. She was so smart, it was almost scary. "If you can help me nail your daddy, I will take you to the toy store and get whatever your little heart desires."

Neveah shook her head. "Electronics."

"Elec…Neveah…"

"You said anything, didn't you?" she tapped her foot and he groaned.

"Okay, whatever you want. Is it a deal?"

She hesitated and then nodded. "Deal."

"Okay…" he whispered into her ear and she giggled and nodded, then ran off and nailed a few of her other cousins before she glanced back at Marlon. He nodded at her and she glanced at Michael and then screamed as loud as she could.

"A snake! Ahh!!!"

Michael froze in his tracks and immediately ran over to Neveah, scooped her up and looked around for the said creature. "Where?"

She pointed near the house and Michael walked slowly toward is only to see it was the water hose. He gave her a look and she shrugged. "Sorry Daddy."

He smiled and set her down and she ran off. Just as Neveah stepped away from him, he was nailed in the back of the head by a rather large water balloon. Michael turned on his heels to see Marlon high-fiving Neveah. "You…" he growled.

Neveah put her hands over her mouth and ran and Marlon laughed. He kept laughing until he noticed Michael rolling up his sleeves and walking toward him instead of Neveah. "Uh…Mike…"

"Come here, Marlon…you cheater!" he walked faster and Marlon stumbled back a few feet and then ran.

"It was a joke! Come on!" he yelled as he ran.

"Cheater!" Michael yelled as he chased after him.

"Lola! Help!" Marlon yelled.

_**Meanwhile…**_

Jackie and I had just finished with the engine and changing the oil. We had just finished rotating the tires when I heard Marlon's voice. "Lola! Help!"

Jackie and I glanced at each other and Jackie jumped into the car and tried to pull it off of the ramps. I turned as Marlon ran up to me and pushed me in front of him. "Marlon? What the hell? You are supposed to be distracting…"

"Marlon…" Michael came around the corner and then froze. "Lola…what are you…?"

I turned to look at Marlon standing behind me and he shrugged. I growled at him and Jackie came around and smacked him in the back of the head. "You idiot."

Michael walked slowly toward us and Marlon pushed me back in front of him. When Michael was directly in front of me, I gave him an innocent smile. "Um…I love you," I batted my eyes and he stared at me for a moment before giving me an oddly scary smile.

He reached forward and pulled me to him, hugging me tightly. "I love you too," he whispered. It was then that I noticed the balloon behind his back and I winced as I awaited to get nailed, but instead he reached around and nailed Marlon in the face.

"What the hell?" he snorted as he rubbed his face.

"That's what you get for using my wife as a shield," Michael grumbled as he pulled me tightly against him. "Use your own wife next time. Oh wait, you don't have one. Sorry, you can't borrow mine. She's all mine and I ain't sharing," he smiled smugly and I gave him a funny look.

Marlon snorted and Jackie laughed as Michael swooped me down and kissed me romantically. "Oh please…" Marlon turned away.

After he set me back up he winked at me and turned to walk away. Jackie raised a brow and Marlon turned red. "Um…" I mumbled.

"Hang on, that's it?" Marlon grumbled. I shrugged and turned back to the car.

"I guess…" I was cut off as cold water sprayed me in the back. I whipped around to see Michael standing there with the water hose in his hand with a huge grin on his face. "Not…" I finished my sentence. "Michael Joseph Jackson…" I growled. He cocked his head to the side in curiosity as I leaned down and picked up a rather large bucket of water. He smiled and took off running and I chased after him.

"Catch me if you can, Wendy!" he giggled.


	3. Chapter 3

"Catch me if you can, Wendy!" he giggled.

"Oh, trust me I will!" I yelled as I chased Michael around the corner with a bucket of soapy water. Jackie and I were just about to wash Marlon's car when he ruined everything for us. Too bad he won't get his car finished, or his cheesecake made. Mean? Maybe, but that happens when you can't do one thing someone asks you to do.

Once everyone that was already a part of the water war saw me chasing Michael from around the corner, they all froze in their tracks. Michael and I hadn't gone at it in a long while, and no one wanted to miss out on that. Kai even came out with the video camera and began recording us.

"I will always be undefeated!" Michael shouted as he ran from me.

"That's funny, you seem so sure of yourself, yet here you are running from a woman!" I laughed. He stopped and turned to give me a look. Right as I got close enough, I wasted no time in flinging that bucket of water his way. He dove behind a nearby tree just in time and then swung around the other side and tackled me to the ground. I dropped the bucket and we both went rolling down a little incline we had in the back yard. We both laughed as we rolled and when we finally came to a stop, I was on top of him. "So, you really thought you could get away from me, huh?"

"Well, I did for a little while. On top of that, I seem to be the only one that remains dry," he grinned at me and I rolled my eyes.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an abandoned super soaker lying on the grass just beyond my reach. "Don't be so sure, Peter." I reached for the water gun and Michael looked at my hand and then rolled on top of me and kissed me before he jumped up and took off running once again. I growled under my breath. I know Michael doesn't look like much when it comes to size, but he somehow always manages to overpower me no matter what I do.

After Michael ran away, I got back up and brushed myself off. I growled under my breath because he had the nerve to tackle a pregnant woman, but then after a moment, I realized he was actually pretty careful trying not to squish me. I walked to the side yard and handed Neveah the super soaker I had in my hand and leaned against the side of the house. I saw Michael standing over by the pool keeping a close watch on his family.

I noticed in the distance, a round of Michael's cousins were banning together and sneaking toward Michael. I watched for a minute and realized these were the same cousins that had pushed him into the pool when we lived at Neverland.

'They've got to be kidding,' I thought to myself.

They charged Michael and I bit my lip awaiting the splash. Just as they had reached Mike, he took one step back and they all fell into the pool together. I laughed and shook my head and Michael just shook his head.

"Dang! Apple Head got faster!" one of his cousins shouted from the pool.

"You guys will never learn," Michael chuckled and turned away from them. They shrugged it off and went back to swimming around. I smiled and walked over toward Michael. He gave me a suspicious look and I held my hands up in defense.

"Don't worry, I'm unarmed," I said innocently. Michael raised a brow at me and then winked before he went back to watching the rest of the family chase each other around the yard.

'He's so cocky. Damn I'm gonna get him back, I have to. But how?' I pondered to myself. I leaned against the nearby pool house we had in our yard. Yes, I said it, a pool house. We were living it large. It was no amusement park but it was pretty close to one. 'I just wish there was a way to get him into that pool,' I thought evilly.

"Hey, look! It's Uncle Jermaine!" Neveah shouted as she dropped her super soaker and ran toward her uncle. Michael and I looked in the direction she was pointing, and sure enough, Jermaine was walking up the yard with his bags in hand. He set his bags down and took his sunglasses off just in time for Neveah to jump into his arms and hug him tightly. "I missed you, Uncle Jermaine!" she yelled.

"I missed you too Little Angel," he said with a huge smile and hugged her back.

I looked back and Michael and noticed the rather large smile on his face. Then I realized, he let his guard down and I wouldn't get another chance like this. I straightened up and moved slowly toward him. I knew there was no way for me to have the power to push him into the pool on my own, so I'd have to end up going in with him.

I grinned on the inside and took one step forward before bursting into a sprint. Michael looked up a little too late. "Lola, no!" he yelled as I tackled him. We both flew into the pool and I had never felt more alive. "Crap, Lola…was that necessary?" he asked once he surfaced.

I couldn't help but remember the last time we had this conversation. That time it was me that was asking him if dragging me into the pool was necessary. I grinned at him. "Of course it was necessary. Now we're even."

We heard a few chuckles around the pool and looked up to see that everyone had gathered around and was laughing, not at the situation itself, but at Michael. For once, someone had gotten the better of "the Michael Jordan of water balloon fights" and they were rather excited to see it. Kai came around with the camera and zoomed in on Michael's face and he splashed her and everyone else.

"This doesn't count. It's not funny," he protested, yet he couldn't help but keep smiling. Neveah was giggling like crazy and it always had him smiling no matter what kind of mood he was in. "You caught me off guard, Lola!" he pouted.

I couldn't help but laugh. "I caught you off guard? The great Michael Jackson was caught off guard?" I teased. "What was that little thing by the driveway then, huh? You caught me off guard with the water hose. And I was just doing a kindly deed for your brothers."

"A kindly deed? You were out working under the hood after you said you wouldn't," he snorted.

"Right well, the point is you caught me off guard first, so now we're even," I folded my arms and smiled and he rolled his eyes.

"If you say so," he said with a smile. I eyed him as he stalked over to me and pulled me against him, and kissed me gently. "I still love you."

"Love you more," I winked. Everyone else rolled their eyes and walked away and we both grinned at each other. Somehow we always managed to chase his family away whenever we got affectionate with each other. We try our best not to do that in front of everyone else, but sometimes we just can't help ourselves.

Michael dragged himself out of the pool and helped me get out myself. I rolled my eyes at him. He refused to let go of me while I was climbing out. I loved him to death, but he was so overly protective it was almost annoying. Almost.

We got out and Kai brought us a couple of towels to dry off.. "Thanks Kai, but I won't need this. I'm heading straight for the shower," I smiled at her and handed her the towel.

Michael quirked a brow and watched me as I walked back to the house. I walked to the bedroom and stripped myself of the soaked clothing and wrapped a towel around myself. I walked out on our balcony and hung my wet clothes before I got into the hot shower. I let the pressurized water beat onto my back and my head fell forward as I breathed in the mist the hot water was creating. After a minute or so, I felt hands on my shoulders and lips against my bare back.

"Why do you always have to be so quiet when you move around like this?" I mumbled as I turned to face Michael.

"I don't try. It just naturally happens," he shrugged. "Besides…" he pushed me back against the shower wall and pushed his body against mine. "We aren't done discussing what you did to me, you little cheater," he spoke in a husky tone and my body shivered automatically.

"I told you…I…I didn't cheat…I just…ohhh lord how am I supposed to speak with you doing that?" I mumbled out and moaned at the same time. He brought his hand slowly down my leg and lifted it up around his waist and started breathing against my neck.

"Then don't speak," he whispered into my neck. I shivered and turned my head and captured his lips against mine. His kiss felt like fire against my lips. It held such passion, I could hardly breathe. He moved against me and just before he was able to slide into me, my only foot that remained on the floor of the shower slipped and I lost my balance. Michael stepped back and caught me just as I hid my head on the soap dish hanging on the shower wall.

"Ouch," I mumbled as I rubbed my head. "Okay, well _that _was fun," I grunted.

Michael scrunched his face and rubbed my head. "Still clumsy, I see. What am I gonna do with you, Lola?" he sighed.

"I'm fine," I shook off the slightly growing headache and pushed Michael against the opposite wall he had me pinned against. "How about you finish what you started?" I whispered.

Michael took my head in his hands and kissed me gently and then shook his head. "How about let's get out of the shower and get you an ice pack."

I groaned and leaned back against the wall. "Ugh, Mike you are such a mood killer."

He grinned and reached around me to turn the shower off and I gave up arguing with him. We both dried off and headed into the kitchen. "Kai, could you please prepare an ice pack for my clumsy wife? She slipped in the shower, and I'm sure this won't be the last time," he gave me a look and I plopped myself down on the couch and stuck my tongue out at him. He winked at me and Kai brought him the ice pack. "Thank you," he said and she smiled and glanced at me. I rolled my eyes and she giggled and walked back to the kitchen.

Michael sat down next to me and set the ice pack gently on my now aching head and I winced. "You don't have to do that. I'm capable of holding my own ice pack, you know."

"I know, but whether or not you will actually keep it there is questionable," he teased.

"Michael, we're all in the sitting room waiting for you whenever you're ready," Tito popped his head into the living room from the hallway. "What happened to Lola?" he asked when he saw the ice pack.

"She was being Lola," Michael laughed when I smacked his arm. "Alright, alright I'm going!" he said laughing.

He put the ice pack in my lap and eyed me before following Tito back into the sitting room just down the hall. "Meh," I grumbled and tossed the ice pack aside. "She was being Lola…hmph," I mocked my husband and got up to walk away and I got dizzy and stumbled back onto the couch.

"Lola? Are you okay?" Janet's voice rang into the living room.

I jumped up almost immediately and hugged her. "Hey girl! I haven't seen you in so long! How was the tour?"

"Fantastic. I had a lot of fun. I thought I saw Jermaine's truck parked out front. Is he here?" she asked.

"Yes, the guys are in the sitting room talking. Trying to make peace, from what I understand."

"Ah, okay well then I guess I will just keep you company. Is that okay with you?"

I gave her a funny look and then laughed. "Of course. I was about to go work on the new nursery anyway."

"Great! Where's Neveah?" she asked.

"She's playing video games in her room with her cousins."

She nodded and I got up and we headed for the nursery.

_Meanwhile…_

"I just don't understand why you left without a warning Jermaine," Jackie said, annoyed.

"Without warning? I told you all I was going to shoot a video. You all needed that time to get your act together anyway. I thought we agreed we would start recording when I got back, and here I am. So what have we got, Tito?"

"Not a damned thing," he grumbled.

"What? Why the hell not?" Jermaine growled.

"Language in my house, guys. Come on, don't fight. Discuss this like men, don't fight like children," Michael said calmly. He sat in a recliner in the corner of the room with one leg crossed over the other and both hands in his lap. He remained relaxed and still and just listened to the conversation.

"Right, sorry Mike. Look, Jackie and Marlon, you two just seem like you don't even care about getting back to performing. All you have been doing is playing around like we had nothing to do. No work to be done. Do you wanna do this show or not?" Tito asked.

"Yes, of course we do," Jackie protested.

"Yes, we do," Marlon said.

"But we can't get serious of one of us leaves the country so suddenly," Jackie mumbled.

"Jackie, don't…" Tito grumbled.

Jermaine sighed and shook his head. "It isn't about me leaving to shoot a video, is it Jack?" he asked.

"No. You know what that felt like when you left? It felt like that same hurt and abandonment I felt when you decided to stay with Motown and we had to part ways," Jackie said.

"I didn't leave. You guys left," Jermaine protested. "I stayed with Motown because I thought it was the right thing to do. Why did you guys leave?"

Michael sat up at this statement. He had been very upset when Jermaine made the decision to stay with Motown. The rest of them were told they had to move on to expand their musical talent by their father, Joe. That was, in Michael's opinion, one of the worst days of his young life.

"We left because we had to. We needed to explore other options for our group. Options that Motown wasn't offering us anymore," Tito explained, yet he stared at the floor with deep concentration written on his face.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was to perform without you?" Marlon asked, his eyes beginning to glaze over.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was to watch you guys leave? I begged you all to stay and you left. I didn't have a choice. I didn't want to let Hazel down, and Motown gave us our boost, you know? We started our career with them and you wanted to turn your backs on them. I couldn't live with that on my conscience," Jermaine let a tear slip and he wiped at them furiously.

"I remember that day," Michael spoke quietly and the brothers froze and looked at Michael. "I didn't want to perform anymore after that horrible night. Jermaine was always at my left when we went on stage. It felt so wrong to continue without him…" he trailed off as he stared at his feet and then he blinked a few times and then looked up at his brothers and smiled. "But that's all over with now, right? It's a thing of the past. We're all grown men with families to take care of, wives who take care of us, and we have each other."

Michael stood up and his brothers followed suit. "Yeah…" Tito said unsurely.

Michael glanced at him and gave him a look. "And now we all know how we all felt when we all had to separate. The point is, we're all here and we're all together now. Let's make the most of it. I'll leave you all to talk about touring plans now. I can't wait to see you guys on stage again," Michael grinned and he and his brothers hugged and made their peace before Michael left the room.

"So, are you two ready to get real and do this?" Tito asked Jackie and Marlon.

"Yes," they both said.

Jermaine sat back into the couch and scratched his chin. "So how are we gonna do this? The first show?"

"Maybe a reunion concert?" Tito suggested.

"Yeah, a reunion concert sounds good. I wonder if we could get Michael to come out on stage with us," Marlon said.

"I don't think so. I mean, it's a great idea and it would bring in more people, as big as our brother is, but he has a family now that's more important to him than performing," Tito said.

"Hmph, you know it wasn't that long ago that performing was his life and he didn't want anything else," Jackie said.

"Yeah, but he has a daughter and a wife that took the place of him performing. It's almost sad. Like the murder of a career," Marlon joked.

"Our career. Without Mike, I'm afraid this tour isn't gonna work," Jermaine thought out loud.

"So what are you saying, Jermaine? Our career is shot because Michael had to go and have a kid?" Jackie snorted.

"No, he's saying our little niece, Neveah, killed our career," Marlon said sarcastically.

_Meanwhile…_

"I absolutely adore what you've done with the nursery, Lola. It's gorgeous, you know, for a boy's room," Janet cooed.

"Thanks girl, but save the cooing for when the baby actually gets here," I giggled.

"Hey Aunt Janet, come and show us what you can do on this game!" Jaafar shouted as we walked by the game room.

"What game is it?" she asked, stepping into the doorway.

"So you think you can dance, idol version," Jaafar grinned. "I'm the best out of all these people in here," he said proudly.

"Is that so?" Janet laughed.

"Nu uh, Neveah kicked your butt last game, Jaafar!" Jermajesty yelled. Jaafar's shoulders slumped and everyone else laughed.

"Hey, where is Neveah anyway?" I asked.

Jaafar shrugged. "I think she went to get something to drink or something. Come on Aunt Janet, are you in?"

"Oh you know it!" she grinned. "Lola?"

"I'll pass, thanks though," I smiled. I would have joined in but I had a funny feeling I needed to go see what my daughter was up to. I walked around the corner when I saw Neveah standing at the door of the sitting room where Michael's brothers were holding their meeting. "Neveah?" I stepped closer. Neveah was glancing through a little crack of the door that showed it wasn't fully closed. I heard muffling of the brother's voices and Neveah took in a sharp breath and slapped a hand over her mouth. "Neveah? What is it?"

Neveah took a couple of steps back and looked at me. I froze when I saw fresh tears flowing down her cheeks. Before I could say anything more, she turned on her heels and ran toward the living room. I blinked a few times and then started to run after her. I paused right in front of that same door and listened for a second.

"Not just Neveah, though. Michael has changed ever since he met Lola. Maybe if those two hadn't met, we'd be back together and making more money than ever. Michael having a family with Lola completely ruined everything," Jackie snorted sarcastically. The brothers always got very sarcastic when they were in a heated debate. They didn't mean half of what they would say when they got like this. Too bad I didn't know that.

I stumbled back a few feet and took off running to find Neveah. If that's what the guys were saying now, I could only imagine what my daughter heard them say. I stopped in the doorway of the living room and had to lean on the doorframe for support when I saw her. She was crying into Michael's chest on the couch and he was shushing her and running his fingers gently through her hair.

"What is it, baby? What has gotten you so worked up?" he whispered to her.

She struggled to get a breath and I had to bite my lip to keep from crying myself. "My….uncles…hate…me! They…want…me…gone!" she said through small gasps of air as she sobbed. That did it for me. My eyes burned with fresh tears and Michael looked up at me with confusion and shock written all over his face. When our eyes met, I turned away and more tears fell.

Suddenly it was all clear to Michael. Not only was his only daughter hurt, but his wife, me, was hurt as well and it had something to do with his brothers. After all he had done for them, they went and did something like this? Michael wasn't gonna stand for it. He had never felt this angry. Not since the first accusations shot out so many years ago. Michael kissed the top of Neveah's head. "They don't hate you, Little Angel. I know they don't. I don't know what you heard or why you heard it, but I am going to find out. Don't cry, please don't cry. I love you," Michael whispered as he held back tears of his own.

He slid her off of his lap and stood up. He made his way toward me and put his hand under my chin and turned my face to his and kissed me gently. I took a breath and let it out slowly. "Michael…I…uh," Michael shushed me and put his forehead against mine.

"You don't have to say a word or do anything. I will take care of it. Everything's gonna be okay," he whispered. I nodded my head and he kissed my forehead before he stormed off toward his brothers.

He slammed the door open so hard, it cracked the drywall. "Holy…what the hell, Mike?" Tito gasped. The brothers stood up at the same time and looked at their fuming brother standing before them.

Michael took a few breaths and his hands shook as he spoke. "How dare you…" he took in another shaky breath and tried to stay calm. "How dare you come into my home and upset my family…and after all the things I've done for you? How could you?"

"What are you talking about?" Jackie asked. "Who did we hurt and how?"

"You hurt Neveah! You hurt Lola! Why?" he raised his voice and then clenched his teeth. It took everything he had not to lose his temper completely. He didn't want to do that. Not until he understood why his girls were so hurt. "What have you guys been talking about then?"

"Well, we discussed touring plans," Jackie spoke up first.

"And we talked about how we wished you would join us to bring in more people," Marlon added.

"And why you couldn't join us…because…of…" Tito froze and looked at Jermaine.

"Oh God…Michael…did Neveah hear us?" Jermaine gasped.

"Oh she heard you alright, and now she thinks you all hate her and want her gone," Michael fumed.

"That's nonsense!" Tito raised his voice which was a bad idea.

"Then explain to me, somebody please! Explain to me why the hell my daughter ran to me in tears screaming that her uncles hate her and want her gone? And why the hell my wife is even upset? Do you want her gone too? Huh?" Michael yelled.

The brothers hesitated. "Mike…" Jermaine whispered and took a step toward Michael.

"Don't…touch…me. I want all of you out of my house. I cannot deal with this right now. Leave my house, go home, and think about what you have done to my family. You can decide how to make it up to them later," he growled.

The brothers hung their heads and gathered their things and began leaving. As Jermaine was the last to leave, he turned to Mike who was still holding on to our crying daughter. Her face was buried into his chest, not even wanting to look at her uncles. I was on his other side, looking away as well.

Jermaine sighed and walked out the door. He knew he messed up, whether it was just a sarcastic remark or not, and he felt like crap.


	4. Chapter 4

After Jermaine and the rest of the family left, I felt so guilty for some reason. I didn't know why. They were the ones that didn't appreciate me in their life or Michael's for that matter. That wasn't even what was bothering me so much. It's the fact that whatever they said meant to Neveah that they didn't love her at all. In fact, they wanted her gone.

'But why do I feel so guilty?' I thought.

I glanced at Michael and Neveah from the kitchen. We had an open bar where we could look straight into the living room from the kitchen. I was helping Kai clean up from dinner. She never liked me helping her, but she eventually gave up arguing with her once Michael told her to.

"Might as well not bother, Kai. At least it's better than having her under the hood of her car breathing in all of that nasty smoke," he had told her. She simply shrugged and I huffed and gave him a 'go to hell' look.

Kai nudged me while I was spacing out, watching Michael and Neveah talking on the couch. He was facing her, but her head was down. She wouldn't look him in the eye.

"Hey, you okay?" Kai asked.

"Yeah, I just hate that she's hurting so much and there's nothing I can do," I whispered.

"Well, maybe Michael can perk her up a little bit. He has that kind of magic that works on most women."

I quirked a brow at her. "Most?"

"Yeah, you weren't so easy to convince at first. He tried to work his magic on you way before you finally ended up together," she grinned at me.

I stared down at her shoes for a moment. I had no idea he tried to "work his magic" on me while I was living with him. "Wow," was all I could say.

Kai smiled and patted my back. "He tried after a few months, but then he felt kind of guilty so he decided to back off and give you some space. What ever happened to make you two finally click was all karma."

"Karma?" I gave her a weird look and she nodded. I sighed. "If you say so."

_In the living room…_

"Neveah, look at me," Michael said softly, tilting her chin toward him. She took in a sharp breath and more tears slid down her pale cheeks. Michael sighed and opened his arms to her. "Come here." She crawled into Michael's lap and he hugged her tightly. "Neveah, you have to believe that everything is going to be okay. For me?" he asked innocently.

Neveah sniffed. "Why do they hate me, daddy? What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing," he answered immediately. "You didn't do anything wrong, Little Angel. Your uncles love you just as much as your mother and I do. It's hard to understand, I know," he paused and thought for a moment. "What exactly did you hear Neveah? What makes you believe they hate you so much?"

"Uncle Jermaine said I was the downfall of their career," she mumbled.

Michael bit his lip. "That doesn't mean…"

"No, I know exactly what it means, daddy. I may be a kid but I'm smart enough to know what that means. I ruined their career, so they want me out of their lives. I understand it all now," she trailed off and looked away from Michael again.

He sighed. "Do you remember about a year and a half ago when I got very sick, and your mother and I had that fight and you heard daddy say something that he didn't mean?" he asked.

She glanced at him and hesitated before nodding her head. "I remember."

"And you remember when mommy told you that daddy was just very sick and he never meant any of those aweful things that he said, right?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Well, that's all this is. Your uncles said something they didn't mean. They love you, Neveah."

"Are my uncles sick?" she asked bluntly.

Michael bit his lip. Dang his daughter was so smart for her age. "No."

"Then I will believe they didn't mean it when I hear it from them," she huffed and got up and walked toward the hallway that led to her room. Before she disappeared, she glanced back at Michael. He looked at her with such sad eyes. He said all he knew to say to try and make her understand, to make her pain go away, but he knew only his brothers could fix it. "Thank you daddy. I love you," Neveah ran up to Michael and hugged his neck and kissed him on the cheek before turning back toward her room.

Michael sighed and I walked in the room and handed him a cup of warm tea. "Thanks," he whispered.

I nodded and sat next to him. "Mike, babe you did all you could. None of this is your fault. You do know that, right?" I asked.

"Yeah," he breathed. He set his cup down and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me against him. I sighed and leaned my head on his shoulder. "I just wish I knew how to fix everything. I want to call my brothers and tell them to apologize to her, but I'm still so mad. Besides, they are smart men. This is the kind of thing they should know, right? They know right from wrong just like I do, don't they?" he asked.

"Yes, that's true, but don't forget whether you're all famous or not, you all come from the same loving parents, and you are all human. You make mistakes like everyone else. You of all people know that," I spoke slowly, trying to make sure to choose my words carefully. I knew he was upset and I didn't want to make it any worse.

He chuckled and kissed my forehead. "Why don't you seem so upset at them? What did you hear them say?"

I looked away and hesitated. Michael heard me take in a short breath and he leaned back to look at me. I shrugged before I looked back at him. "It really isn't important…"

"Don't close me out, Lola. Come on, tell me what you heard."

I sighed. "They said I changed you ever since I came into your life. They said if it weren't for me, maybe you all would be together performing at this reunion instead of them doing it without you," Michael looked away and shook his head. "You see? I told you it wasn't important. Somehow, I feel kind of…guilty."

Michael shot me a look. "Why?"

"I'm not sure. I feel like we're jumping to conclusions, you know? Like they didn't mean those things. They love Neveah and you so much. I highly doubt they would ever think twice about hurting either of you," I said softly. I brushed a hair behind Michael's ear and he smiled weakly at me before taking my hand and kissing me lightly.

"You always know just what to say to make me feel better," he whispered.

"That's all part of the job as your wife," I winked.

"Yeah, and being clumsy…" he teased.

"Oh shut up," I smacked his arm lightly. He laughed and froze when the doorbell rang. One of the hired maids answered and within seconds, Marlon came slowly around the corner. I stood up and bit my lip, afraid to look at Michael.

Michael stood slowly and kept his eyes on Marlon's. "What can I do for you?" he asked simply.

"Mike, I know you're still mad. You have every right to be. But can I please take some time to apologize to everyone, and Neveah?"

Michael let out a slow breath and looked away before he glanced at me. I looked back at him and nodded my head. He gave me a little smirk and then looked back at his brother. "Go talk to Neveah and then leave. I will talk to you myself after I have been given some time to calm down."

Marlon nodded and headed for Neveah's room. "Knock knock," he called out as he knocked on her door. Neveah was lying on her back across her bed with her headphones plugged in, listening to an old Jackson 5 album in her CD player. "Neveah, can I talk to you?"

"About what?" she asked bluntly, not bothering to look at him.

He slowly walked in and sat on her bed. "Everything."

She glanced at him before pausing her CD player and taking her headphones out of her ears. "I'm listening."

"Neveah, I know you are very upset about what you heard us saying earlier this morning, but I promise you we didn't mean a word of it," he said.

She sat up and held back more tears. "Then why did you say it?"

Marlon shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not sure. Your uncles and your daddy and myself, we always got very sarcastic with each other when we got into a heated debate. I really don't know why we do it. It just happens, and we never intend anyone else hear it. Neveah, we all love you and your parents very much. We don't want you gone at all. You're the reason we wanna get back up on that stage, you know?"

Neveah blinked a few times. "Really?"

"Yes, of course. You and your cousins, you all are our lives. The reason we all get up every morning. The reason why we smile so much," he grinned at her and then tickled her side. "The reason we play and laugh," he added as she giggled.

"So you don't hate me?" she asked.

"No way. We love you so much." She smiled and he winked at her. She hugged him tightly and sighed.

"I love you more," she whispered. Marlon grinned widely.

"So, what's this you're listening to?" he asked, picking up her CD player.

"An awesome album. My favorite song on this one is Rockin Robin," she grinned. "Makes me wanna get up and dance."

Marlon laughed. "Show me."

_Later…_

Michael and I were sitting on the couch watching a movie in Marlon finally came out from Neveah's room. Michael shut the television off and we both stood as Marlon walked toward us.

"Well?" Michael asked with his arms folded. I gave him a look and he looked away from me.

Marlon noticed but he figured he deserved it. "Neveah is a very good dancer, and singer. I'm not surprised, really. I explained everything to her. She knows now that we meant no harm in our words."

"So, she's okay now?" I asked.

Marlon nodded. "She's okay. I only hope you will be able to forgive us for being so careless in your home," he said sincerely.

I reached out and hugged him and Michael still looked away. He hugged me back. "Thank you for coming to talk to Neveah." I pulled away and Marlon sighed.

"I really am sorry, Lola. Can you forgive me?"

I glanced at Michael when Marlon unexpectedly grabbed my hand and held it in both of his. He was giving me those sad puppy dog eyes that kills me every time I see it in any of the Jacksons. Michael grabbed my other hand and pulled me toward him.

"Don't add pressure, Marlon. Now isn't a good time," Michael said simply.

Marlon shook his head. "Right. I'm sorry."

"I'll consider forgiveness when the rest of the brothers are here and when Michael is calm enough to consider it as well."

Marlon left shortly after that and Michael and I soon went to bed after singing Neveah to sleep. Michael was so pleased to see his daughter was in better shape than she was before.

The next day I came home from work pretty upset. Thankfully, Neveah didn't have to see me in such bad shape. She was spending the night with one of her cousins tonight. Michael walked out of the kitchen with a banana and I quirked a brow at him.

"Having a late snack?" I asked, glancing at the clock. It was already ten-thirty.

"Yep," he grinned at me as he finished his snack and threw away the peel. I shuffled my feet toward the stairs and he met me at the foot of the steps and wrapped his arms around me from behind my back. "We're all alone tonight," he made a funny purring sound in my ear and I looked back at him.

"I'm aware of that," I said plainly. I walked up the stairs and Michael released his hold on me and watched me walk away. He joined me later as I had just changed into my pajamas.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked as he sat on the bed.

I stared at the television that was on Animal Planet, but the sound was muted. "I'm fine."

Michael rolled his eyes and crawled on top of me where I couldn't see the television anymore. "Are you sick?"

I looked at him and he gave me an innocent look. "No."

"Then what's bothering you?" he asked.

"Nothing, really. Just had a long hard day at the hospital. I'm exhausted," I lied.

'Why do you do that to him?' my mind yelled at me. 'You know lying isn't gonna make you feel any better. Tell him about that man at the hospital. He just wants to comfort you.'

"Okay, if you say so," Michael said quietly before he rolled off of me and went to change into his pajamas. He sounded almost hurt. I felt so bad. I didn't want to shut him out like that, but he was already upset enough over his brothers. I didn't want to make him even more upset because I let feelings get ahead of me at my job.

I sighed and swung my legs over the bed and decided it would be good for me to take a walk around the yard. Wonderland was pretty big, yet there were no amusement park rides to visit or any zoo animals to watch. There was plenty of art and waterfalls. Michael knew I had a thing for waterfalls, so he had about twelve of them built all over the property. Each one contained tropical fish and lily pads. I walked around for a little while before Michael found me. He jumped out of the bushes wearing his famous red jacket he wore in _Thriller_.

"What are you doing?" I gasped.

"I scared you, didn't I?" he asked, amused.

"No…no you didn't," I stuttered.

"Yeah I did. Admit it, you were scared," he taunted.

I hesitated. "I wasn't that scared," I snorted. Something about that line gave me the strange feeling of déjà vu, and I shook my head and walked away.

"Yes you were," he laughed as he followed me. Suddenly, a familiar beat started to play and I rolled my eyes.

'Oh lord, please don't do this to me,' I thought.

Michael came up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders and started to sing. "_It's close to midnight, and something evil's lurking in the dark…"_

I brushed his hands off my shoulders. "Michael, don't do this."

He walked beside me and danced sideways. "_Under the moonlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart…"_

"No I don't…"

"_You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before you make it…"_

"Mike…"

"_You start to freeze, as horror looks you right between the eyes. You're paralyzed!"_

Michael danced around me as he had once before with that girl in his all time popular video, _Thriller._ I knew why he was doing this. That song was one of my favorite songs of all time, and he was recreating it for me. I smiled a little and kept walking as he continued to sing and dance around me.

"_You hear the door slam. And realize there's nowhere left to run…" _Michael swung his arms like he was slamming a door and I flinched and he cracked a smile.

"Nowhere, huh?" I teased.

"_You feel the cold hand, and wonder if you'll ever see the sun. You close your eyes, and hope that this is just imagination, girl…but all the while, you hear a creature creepin up behind, you're out of time…"_

He moved behind me and put his fingers up the back of my neck and I flinched again. His fingers were cold. "Dang, Mike…" I growled.

"_They're out to get you, there's demons closin' in on every side…they will posses you unless you change that number on the dial, and now is the time, for you and I to cuddle close together…yeah,"_

He pulled me close to him and I shivered. "Why must you do this to me," I mumbled.

"_All through the night, I'll save you from the terror on the screen, I'll make you see…"_

I finally cracked a smile as Michael sang through the rest of the song until Vincent's voice rang out and started speaking. "Come on Lola, you know the dance," Michael held his hand out to me as the beat started. I laughed and hesitated before doing the all time favorite dance routine of _Thriller._

After the dance and we both had time to calm down, Michael hugged me. "Alright, now will you tell me what happened today? Or do I have to end up playing _Give In To Me_?" he asked.

'Damn him for knowing all of my favorite songs,' I thought to myself.

"We lost a patient today that I had grown very close to during his stay at the hospital. He had Lymphoma. Cancer of the Lymph Nodes."

Michael hugged me as I told him how the man had passed away. I was in the room with him and his wife and daughter. They left for the night and he asked me to stay and read a few verses from the bible for him. After a few verses he reached for my hand and called me by his daughter's name. He told me he loved me and he was sorry he wasn't always there for me. Then he passed away. I couldn't help but feel pain from those words. My father was never there for me either, and when this sweet old man took his last breath, I pictured my father lying there in his place.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. I can't even imagine how that made you feel," Michael whispered into my hair as he hugged me.

"It's alright. I got all of my crying over with on my way home. It's just something I have to get used to. All a part of the job. I have to teach myself to become less attached to people when they come under my care."

"How is that possible?" Michael asked. I looked at him and he looked deep into my eyes. "How can it be possible not to grow attached to people? You sit with them and take care of them. You know them by name and speak to their families. How is it possible to walk away without being attached?"

Michael was very sincere about people in general. I wouldn't expect him to be able to even think that was possible to keep yourself from being attached to those that you are around every single day. There wasn't one person that Michael met that he didn't grow attached to. He had so much love to give to everyone that came into his life.

"I don't know," was all I knew to say.

The following day, I was making my rounds on the "post operative care" floor when an intern came up to me and handed me a new chart. "This one will be roomed in your ward just for observation," she said.

"Thank you Steffany," I said as I took the chart. I read over it out loud as I leaned against the nurse's station. "Twenty-eight year old male with Appendicitis. Appendix was inflamed and was removed successfully. Other organs may have been affected. Heavy bleeding was included during surgery…well duh," I rolled my eyes. "He's so young to have to go through this," I glanced at his name. "Wade Tucker…no way," I gasped.

'It couldn't be Wade Tucker, not the Wade Tucker I grew up with…' I thought as I walked toward the room he was in.

Wade Tucker was a younger man I grew up with back in the day. He and his girlfriend, Carol, were my best friends. They were like family to me. Carol was with me when I went into labor with my first child. Wade drove like a mad man trying to get us to the hospital in time. Brian never came around after my son was born when Wade was around. He was terrified of Wade.

I walked around the corner and froze when I heard a woman yell my name. "Oh my God, Lola? Lola Jackson?"

My hair stood on end for a second. Security was always close by at my hospital. Whether I performed a few times or not, I was still well known as Michael Jackson's wife and there had been instances where people had rushed me while I was working. In fact I almost lost my job a few times because of media storms. That is until Michael showed up and took care of it for me.

I looked up and noticed the woman that yelled for me wasn't just a woman. It was… "Carol Evans? No freaking way!" I yelled as I ran to her. Carol, Wade's girlfriend, and my best friend, my sister, was here hugging me. I wasn't imagining things.

"Oh my God, look at you! You look fantastic!" she yelled.

"So do you!" I yelled back. I cleared my throat when I noticed we were causing a little bit of a scene and we walked into the room. "What are you doing here?" I asked her.

"Well…" she nodded her head toward the bed, and lying there with a silly grin on his face was Wade Tucker. "His Appendix finally gave up on him. I told him time and time again to lay off the Root Beer, but does he ever listen to me?"

I laughed and walked over to his bed. He sat up and tried to stand to hug me and then winced and Carol pushed his shoulder so he'd sit back down. I rolled my eyes as he grunted. "Carol, come on…you're not the only one that wants a hug!"

"You moron, you need to be still or you'll pop a stitch again," she growled at him.

"Right, well anyways," I interrupted. "What are you two doing in Vegas?" I asked. "And what's with this big rock on your finger?" I asked Carol as I noticed a rather large engagement ring.

She blushed and Wade smiled proudly. "I saved up a long time for that ring. Anyway, we just became engaged last month and we were on vacation. Where have you been? I haven't heard from you since…I don't remember."

"I've been here for a while. I was living in California for a while…" I said.

"Yeah, Neverland. Girl, I can't believe it! Mrs. Michael Jackson? You're living the ultimate dream!" she grinned.

"Ahem," Wade grumbled.

"Oh shut it. Grow your hair out a little more and learn a few dance moves and then maybe you will get more attention from me," she teased him and he rolled his eyes. "We saw everything on the television. We saw you defend Michael at his trial, and then saw you two dancing in concert. I have to admit, you got some good moves girl," she winked.

"Yeah, well you taught me some of them. So, have you heard anything from Brian?" I asked.

"Last time we heard him speak when he wasn't begging Carol for help was when we tried to find you and he said you didn't wanna talk to us anymore and that you had him and that's all you needed," Wade explained.

"What a jerk, I can't even believe…wait, begged for help?" I asked Carol.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Your mother called me and told me about Will. We were so devastated we didn't make it to the funeral. When we finally found his grave, we decorated it with flowers and a few pictures of all of us together and Brian showed up."

"He did?" I asked in a whisper.

"Yeah, it didn't take too long for Wade to lose his temper. We both knew how it happened. Brian told us we weren't welcome and Wade looked at him with such fire in his eyes, Brian turned and walked away."

"Yeah, I could've taken him right there, but Carol wouldn't let me," Wade pouted.

"I don't want us kicked out of the cemetery, dimwit. Anyway, we followed Brian out of the cemetery and Wade cornered him and beat the living crap out of him, in the process he was yelling for me to help him and I turned away. He deserved every bit of what he got."

I quirked a brow and he was smirking. "And what did he get, Wade?"

"A broken nose and cheek bone, a broken arm and a shattered knee," he smiled in remembrance and I giggled.

"Ouch. How did you shatter his knee?" I asked.

"He tried to hit me with it and I twisted it around and stepped on it with my steel toed boots," he grinned again and I rolled my eyes.

We chatted for a little while before I had to leave and check up on more patients. When my shift was over, I came back to check on Wade and Carol and told them once Wade was able to be discharged, they should give me a call. I would have invited them over right then and there, but I wanted to make sure it would be alright with Michael before I brought in people he didn't know. I gave Carol my number and went home for the night.

'I wonder what Michael is gonna say to all this…' I thought as I drove home.


	5. Chapter 5

As I drove home, I had a permanent smile on my face. I was so excited to have Carol and Wade back in my life. I could hardly wait to get home and tell Michael all about it. When I pulled in, I ran inside and up the stairs for the bedroom. As I got to the top of the stairs, Neveah ran past me and I skidded to a stop and looked at her.

"Lola…heads up!" Michael's voice came fast and loud from behind me. He skidded and with the floors being slick, he slid right into me and we both ended up on the floor. "Oh geeze, Lola, sweetheart, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there! Are you okay?" Michael leaned over me and checked me over for any injuries.

I layed there and laughed. "I'm fine. Are you okay?" I asked, still laughing.

Michael cracked a smile. "I'm good. You're in a good mood tonight, aren't you?"

"Yes sir, I am. I ran into some old friends at the hospital. Two friends I grew up with, and they are here on vacation."

"That's wonderful, Lola," he smiled. "Tell me more," he said while helping me up. We walked down the stairs with Neveah leading the way into the kitchen. Kai prepared a snack for Neveah and we sat in the living room.

"Their names are Carol and Wade. They just got engaged actually. Carol is also a huge MJ fan," I winked at him and he smiled nervously.

"Did you tell them about us?" he asked.

"I didn't have to, duh! Come on, we have been all over the news several times over the last decade. Are you worried?" I asked.

"Not at all. I'm looking forward to meeting them," he smiled.

"Good. That was gonna be my next question. Is it alright with you if I invite them over for a day?"

"A day is all you're giving them? Come on, silly. They are on vacation. Invite them to stay with us as long as they'd like. Any friends of my wife's are friends of mine," he winked and I smiled.

"Okay. I gave Carol our number too. I don't know when she will call, but I'm hoping soon."

"I'll keep a close eye on the caller I.D."

I nodded and we watched a movie together. About halfway through the movie, little Michael started rolling around in my tummy and it startled me. That had been the first real movement I had felt with my 2nd pregnancy with Michael. I smiled and rubbed my belly and Michael put his hand over mine and kissed my cheek. Pretty soon, I fell asleep across Michael's lap and Neveah turned around to find me asleep and Michael trying desperately to keep his eyes open. He yawned widely and then noticed Neveah looking at him and he shook his head and rubbed his eyes.

"I guess this movie was too much for mommy, huh?" she giggled.

Michael glanced down at me and he shrugged. "I guess so. You wanna help me take mommy to bed?"

She nodded and Michael stood with me in his arms. Neveah walked next to him carrying my hand in hers. I woke up a little later in our bed, alone. I stretched and walked around the house looking for Michael. I stopped at Neveah's door and peaked in when I heard Michael singing softly to her. He was singing _You Are My Life _and she was already fast asleep.

After Michael finished the song, he kissed Neveah on the head and walked out. He smiled at me when he entered the hallway where I was leaning against the wall. I smiled weakly at him and he hugged me.

"Now you owe our daughter an extra song," he mumbled with a grin.

"What?" I asked, clearly confused.

"You missed out on her lullaby. Shame on you," he teased. "I sang an extra song to her tonight. Now you owe her one."

"Uh, okay?"

Michael chuckled and we headed back to bed. The next morning at work, I headed straight for Wade's room and I found they had already been discharged before I got there. I frowned a little on the inside. I wanted to tell Carol in person that she would get to meet Michael Jackson.

'Oh well,' I shrugged it off and went to check on another patient.

**Meanwhile…**

Carol and Wade had gotten back to the hotel and they were unpacking some things they had taken to the hospital. Wade winced as he walked into the kitchen area and he got quiet. Carol was about to ask what he was doing when she heard a crack and a sizzle.

"Wade Tucker," she growled without even looking his way. "Put that Root Beer down right now or I'm gonna come in there and make you wear it."

"Damn Carol, do you have to use me full name like that? You're not my mom you know," he grumbled. He went to take a quick sip of his can and Carol spoke up again.

"Don't even think about it. If you don't want me acting like your mom, then don't make me act like her," she snorted.

"Yeah, yeah I hear ya," he rolled his eyes and put the can back in the fridge. He came around the corner and sat down on the couch and switched on the television. "So when are you gonna call Lola?"

"Soon," she said while unpacking Wade's bag.

"How soon?" he asked.

"Why do you want me to? Have a crush on Lola, do you? I don't think Mr. Thriller Man would like that very much," she teased.

He rolled his eyes and waved her off. "Oh please. Michael doesn't scare me. In fact, I'm gonna tell him you said that."

Her eyes snapped up and she glared at Wade. "Don't you dare!"

"Or what?" he tested her.

"Or I'll…I'll…" she stuttered for a good comeback but she was too aggravated to think of a good one at the moment. "I'll find a way. Just don't do it and you wont have to worry about me nailing you," she snorted and walked into the bathroom.

"Where you going? I'm not done talking to you missy," he taunted her. He knew she hated being called that.

"To take a shower. That okay with you?" she snapped from the bathroom.

"Yeah…I guess," he mumbled. He heard her growl in anger and he chuckled to himself. He stood up and walked to the sink that was right outside the bathroom door. He waited a few seconds after he heard the water come on and he turned the water on in the sinks. "3…2…" he whispered.

"AHH! WADE TUCKER! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" she shrieked from her shower.

"Heh, love you too babe," he chuckled.

Later on. Carol finally decided it was time to give me a call. She pulled out my card I had given her at the hospital and dialed the number. A soft voice answered as Carol stood by the bedside table, twirling the phone cord around her finger.

"Hello? Jackson residence."

"Oh, um, hi. May I please speak with Lola?" Carol asked politely.

"She's at work. May I ask whose calling?"

"Yeah, this is her friend Carol…" she spoke slowly. Her body locked up when she heard this soft voice.

"Oh, Carol. I've heard so much about you and Wade. I can't wait to meet the two of you!"

"You…heard about us? Who is this?" she stuttered for words.

"This is Michael Jackson, Lola's husband."

Carol stared at the phone and then dropped it. Wade stared at her before picking up the receiver and hanging it up. He waved a hand in front of her face and she blinked a few times before she looked at him.

"What?" she asked.

"Who was that?"

"Oh, some jerk pretending to be Michael Jackson," she spoke so fast, Wade almost didn't catch it.

"Uh, yeah? That's Lola's husband. Are you okay?" he rubbed her arm and she shook a little.

"Well, I didn't know what to say! He's my idol, you know!"

Wade shook his head and the phone rang. Carol snapped her head at it and then stepped outside on the balcony. She was so embarrassed. Wade smiled at her before he reached for the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Is this Wade?"

"Yes it is. Is this Michael?" he asked.

"That's me. Is Carol okay? I think I scared her," Michael chuckled a little and Wade smiled.

"She's okay. She was just a little nervous. You're her idol."

"Shut up Wade!" Carol yelled from the balcony and both Michael and Wade laughed.

"Anyway, what's up man? How are you?" Wade asked.

"Oh I'm good thank you. How are you feeling? I heard about the surgery."

"I'm getting there," he smiled. He figured Michael would be a layed back kind of guy, but he oddly felt like he had known Michael for years.

"That kind of surgery can't be cheap," Michael thought out loud.

"Not really. I'm not looking forward to getting the bill. This hotel alone isn't cheap, but I'd do anything for Carol," he blushed a little.

Michael smiled. "That's very sweet of you. Hey, I have an idea."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Why don't you check out of your hotel in the morning and come stay with Lola and I for the remainder of your vacation? It would save you a lot of money, I'm sure," Michael offered.

"Seriously? We don't want to impose or anything," Wade was in shock. He knew Michael was generous, but he never expected this.

"You wouldn't impose, and Lola could use more company than just me all the time," he laughed.

"Well, that would be wonderful. Thank you so much, Michael."

"Anything for friends. I'll have my driver pick you guys up around noon tomorrow, alright?"

"Sounds good. Thanks again buddy." Wade smiled. He couldn't wait to break the news to Carol.

**Later…**

When I got home that night, Michael met me in the driveway and hugged me tightly. "Oh, thank you. What was that for?"

"Do I need a reason to give the woman I love a hug?" Michael asked innocently.

I gave him a look. "What did you do wrong?"

Michael put his hand on his chest and gasped. "I'm surprised you would think so lowly of me, Lola. That hurts. That cuts me real deep," he said dramatically and I quirked a brow at him. "You're not buying this, are you?"

"Not at all."

"Damn."

I turned and walked toward the house and the second I entered through the door, the scent of freshly baked pie filled my nose. I glanced around looking for Kai and didn't find her. I walked around until I found Michael standing innocently by the back door. I gave him a weird look and headed for the door.

"Don't go out there Lola. It's not a pretty sight." Michael warned me.

I gave him another look and shoved the door open. Before I stepped out, I grabbed Michael's arm and shoved him in front of me. Before he knew what hit him, or both of us, we were being covered in whipped cream, throwing pies, and silly string. Neveah, all of her cousins, Janet, Rebbie, and even Momma and Joe were in on the fun.

Michael tried to get away from me and I held on fast until I caught a glimpse of a familiar face. I release Michael and was tackled by Carol. Wade stood by laughing and spraying us with silly string.

"When did you all get here?" I asked.

"Just now actually," Carol smiled. I glanced at Wade and he stood by Michael and pointed over at Carol and Michael smiled evilly.

'Oh crap,' was all I could think.

"Hi Carol, nice to meet you finally," Michael walked up to Carol and touched her shoulder. Carol froze and Wade attacked her with two pies and what looked like a gallon of whipped cream.

"Michael Jackson," I growled.

"Wade Tucker," Carol growled at the same time.

Both men started backing away from Carol and I and they glanced at each other and gulped. They both took off running and we chased them around for a bit before we grew very tired and lost site off them.

"Where'd they go?" Carol asked, now armed with a rather large super soaker. I had a bucket of ice water.

"Up that tree," I snorted, pointing toward one of the many large trees in our back yard. They had somehow climbed nearly to the top and they were sitting on a high branch together laughing at us.

"How is it my fiancé just so happens to be exactly like the great Michael Jackson?" Carol wondered.

"You mean the once great Michael Jackson," I corrected her.

She giggled and then paused. "How are we gonna get them back?"

"Oh that's easy. We will probably pay for it later though," I shrugged.

Carol grinned. "I'm game."

The rest of the family was let in on the plan after I explained it to Neveah. Most of them went inside while Carol and I pretended to stalk the guys that were comfortably sitting in the tree. They were actually laying on the branches, yawning and stretching like they were napping. I rolled my eyes and Carol grinned at me as we began surrounding the tree. I started to climb and Carol dropped her weapon.

"Lola? What are you doing? You can't climb the tree, you're pregnant!" Carol cried.

"I'm going after them, Carol. They've been up there for a while. They could be hurt," I grumbled as I got up a couple of branches. Michael sat up and Wade leaned down and watched me carefully.

Carol smirked at me as a sign that we had their attention. "Lola, stop!" she yelled.

"I'll be fi…ohhhh," I moaned and grabbed my tummy.

"Lola!" Carol yelled. Michael and Wade glanced at each other before they began climbing down abruptly.

I climbed back down a branch before I slipped on the last one and fell on my back. "Ohhh this is not good," I moaned. I curled to one side and held my pregnant belly as Michael and Wade eventually gave up on climbing down and they jumped the rest of the way.

"Lola!" they both yelled as they ran up to me and Carol.

Just as they bent down to check on me, I smiled and Michael frowned. "Now!" I yelled as the entire family and Carol nailed them with water balloons and super soakers. I rolled out of the way and nailed them both with the bucket of ice water.

"Oh you two are so gonna get it!" Wade growled.

"Lola Marie Jackson," Michael growled at me.

Carol and I looked at each other and dropped our weapons that were now out of ammo and we made a break for it. We were of course no match for the guys. They both caught us and Wade threw Carol over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" she yelled as she beat his back.

"No chance," he smacked her butt and she continued to fight him. I laughed at her until Michael picked me up bridal style and carried me the same way Wade had taken Carol.

"Michael, put me down. Where are you taking me?" I squirmed and Michael poked me in the side with his thumb and I jumped. He just smiled and followed Wade to the side of the swimming pool.

Carol and I looked at each other for a brief second before the guys prepared to throw us in. At the same time, we anchored ourselves to them just as they were about to throw us in and we all fell in together instead.

Later after we had dried off, we all sat down to a nice dinner. Neveah sat between Michael and Wade. She had already taken a liking to both Carol and Wade. She even called them her aunt and uncle, which of course I didn't mind. They didn't seem to mind either.

"So, I hear you like electronics, right Neveah?" Wade asked her.

"Yes I do. I love video games and computers too," she beamed. I smiled at her as I ate.

"I'll have to teach you how to play World of Warcraft. Ow!" he rubbed his leg after Carol kicked him from under the table. "What?"

"She's too young for that kind of game, stupid!" she growled.

Michael chuckled and Wade gave him a look. "Oh come on, really?"

"She doesn't need to be exposed to scary things like that, Wade. Pick a better game," Michael said softly.

Wade nodded and I shook my head. Neveah had no idea what everyone was talking about, so she simply shrugged it off and continued to eat. After dinner, we all sat and watched a movie before it was time for Neveah to go to bed.

"Make yourselves at home. We will be back once we tuck her in," Michael said. Carol and Wade nodded as Michael and I disappeared upstairs to put Neveah to bed.

"She has changed a lot, hasn't she?" Wade asked Carol.

"Yeah, but she's still kind of the same, though. I don't know how with all this attention. Look at this place. It's a dream," Carol looked around the room. "I never thought my best friend would end up marrying a super star."

"She's gotten pretty popular herself too, don't you think? And she owes some of that to you. You taught her how to do the Smooth Criminal dance and the Thriller dance too," Wade reminded her.

"Those were 2 routines. Michael probably taught her the rest," she paused when she heard music. "Do you hear that?"

Wade listened and they followed the sound upstairs and stopped at Neveah's door. They peaked in and listened to Michael and I harmonizing a lullaby for her. Carol swayed a little as she tried to stay awake. Wade thought it was a beautiful song, but it didn't make him sleepy. Carol however knew Spanish quite well. She understood the words to the song.

As we finished the song, Wade and Carol snuck back down the stairs. We rejoined them in the living room and watched a scary movie before we decided to call it a night. Technically Carol and I decided to leave. The movie was getting too freaky for us.

We took a walk around Wonderland and talked about random things. We talked about what she had been up to since we last saw each other and how her and Wade ended up engaged. We talked about my life with Michael and Neveah's life as well. Then we talked about wedding plans for her and Wade.

"What kind of wedding do you want?" I asked her. We were sitting under the biggest tree on the property.

"I don't really know. A nice one of course, surrounded by people I love. I want one I will never forget, but one that I can also say no one has ever experienced before. You know what I mean?" she asked and I nodded. Then she sighed. "I know it's silly of me to even wish for that. Wade is all I really need. I guess it doesn't matter what kind of wedding we have, as long as we have each other."

I smiled at her and made a gagging sound and she laughed. "Just teasing. That's beautiful, Carol. And don't say it's silly. I think it's sweet. You deserve to have a great wedding. A wedding you will never forget. I'll help you plan it to make it as close to your dream as we can make it," I winked at her and she smiled and hugged me.

A few seconds later, we heard cracking branches and we stood up just as the guys jumped out from behind the tree with werewolf masks on and they growled at us. We screamed and jumped back and they laughed at us. We both growled at them and pushed them on their butts before we turned on our heels and headed back to the house.

"Wait, where are you two going?" Wade called.

"Come back!" Michael yelled.

Carol and I slammed the back door in their faces and headed upstairs. We would get them back, but we both had a feeling the practical jokes were only beginning. This was going to be a long vacation.


	6. Chapter 6

Carol and I decided to bunk together that night. When we slammed the door in the guys' faces, we contemplated on locking them out and letting them sleep out back, but I figured it wouldn't have mattered since Michael always kept an extra key hidden just outside the door somewhere. Damn him for always being so prepared.

I moved from me and Mike's room to the guest suite hidden in the underground cave. Neither Carol nor myself were that tired, so we stayed up plotting our next prank on the guys.

"So, what do you think we should do to get them back? I'd like to scare them like they scared us, but…" Carol thought outloud.

"But the guys aren't that easily frightened," I finished.

She raised a brow at me. "Frightened?"

I shrugged. "What?"

"Nothing. I guess I'm just used to you talking like you used to. Now you're so proper. Pure royalty," she teased.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, sure. I'm still the same Lola, you know. Just gained a little experience, that's all."

Carol began to protest when there was a knock at the door. "Come on girls, you can't hide from us forever," Wade called out through our locked door.

"Lola, please, for me?" Michael pouted.

Carol eyed me and then grunted. I rolled my eyes. "Michael, the puppy dog pout won't work through a closed door. Now go to bed."

I practically heard him curse through the door and I held in a giggle. Wade grunted in response and then they grew quiet. "Well, okay Mike. I guess they won. Let's go to bed," he said a little louder and in a rather strange tone.

"Um, yeah…okay. Goodnight ladies," Michael said in the same weird tone.

Carol and I shook our heads. "Forget it, we ain't that dumb!" Carol said.

"Go to bed Mikey-butt!" I called.

"Mikey-butt?" I heard Wade ask.

"Shut up Wade," Michael grumbled. They finally left and Carol and I continued plotting until we eventually dozed off. When we woke up that morning, both of us had left the room with evil grins on our faces. We both knew we each had something planned, but we didn't say what exactly it was.

We snuck into the living room and the house was silent, other than Kai getting things ready for breakfast in the kitchen. Carol snuck through the door and pulled out a rubber band from the drawer.

"What are you doing?" Kai asked with a smile.

"Getting my fiancé back for scaring the life nearly out of me. Oh hey, don't mess with the sink, just a warning," Carol told her. She giggled and then nodded her head. Carol then went to the kitchen sink and wrapped the rubber band around the sprayer's trigger and smiled. She had watched Wade in the mornings and the first thing he did was come into the kitchen and get a glass of tap water from the sink.

Meanwhile I had grabbed a box of saran wrap and was taping it across the hallway door leading into the kitchen area. This was a door I knew Wade didn't use, but Michael did. Neveah came skipping out of her room before I sealed the doorway and I let her pass before I completed the project.

"What are you doing, Mommy?" she asked.

"I'm getting daddy back for scaring me last night. This is gonna be a lot of fun for the both of us," I winked at her and she giggled and nodded. She always loved watching Michael and I play around and play tricks on each other.

Moments later, Carol slipped around the corner and grabbed my arm. Wade came out of his room yawning and he scratched his butt as he walked into the kitchen. Neveah giggled, I smiled at Neveah and rolled my eyes, and Carol put her hand over her face and shook her head in shame.

We peaked over the bar from the living room and watched him walk over to the sink with an empty glass. Kai was watching from the other side of the room with her hand over her mouth. He flipped up the faucet on ice cold and screamed when it sprayed him in the face and chest. He scrambled for a few seconds before he finally shut the water off. Carol fell over laughing and I slapped my hand over her mouth as I heard Michael coming down the hall.

We sneaked around to the back of the couch just as he ran to the doorway. "What was that? Wade? Are you al…Ah! LOLA!"

He ran right into a barrier of clear saran wrap as I had planned and fell backward. I lost it with Carol and Neveah both nearly crying. Michael stood and Wade met him in the living room. When we finally contained ourselves enough to stand, we looked at the guys and then fell over again. Wade and Michael were standing side by side, both with hands folded across their chests glaring at us. Wade was dripping from the chest up and Michael had bits of clear wrap in his hair and on his shoulders.

Kai snapped a picture before she completely lost it herself.

"You two are sooooo gonna get it!" Wade fumed.

"I can't believe you would do this to me, Lola. How could you?" Michael pouted.

"Quite easily actually. Think of it this way though, at least I didn't have to stoop so low as to putting dog hair on my face to scare you," I taunted him and he glared at me again. "Well, I'm off to work. Love you all!" I skipped out and changed into my work clothes before leaving. Carol had a very uncomfortable look on her face as I walked out the front door.

A few hours later, I was making my rounds on the floor. I stopped at the nurses' station to read over a few charts when Carol walked up to me.

"Hey, I'm sorry to bother you here at work, but I just couldn't stand being there at the house by myself anymore. The guys keep glaring at me and they are way too quiet," Carol bit her lip and I giggled.

"I don't mind. You forget I'm in charge on this floor. You can hang around here, I go on lunch in about an hour or so…"

"Excuse me, Mrs. Jackson, your new employee is here," one of the receptionists peaked around the corner.

"Oh, okay. Send her in," I smiled. I shrugged when Carol smiled back at me. "I'm training a new nurse starting today. They are apparently adding a new ward to my floor so I had to hire more help."

"Mrs. Jackson, it's nice to meet you, I'm…" a girl's voice rang behind me and I turned and froze. "T…Tani?"

Carol froze too. "Tani! Oh my God!"

"Lola…Carol…?" she stood shocked before we all blinked a few times, and with glazed eyes, we embraced for what seemed like hours. "I can't believe this! How is this possible?"

We all shrugged and smiled at each other. I had to rub my eyes a few times to really catch up to what was happening. There in front of me stood Tani. My lifelong best friend. She was like a sister to me. She still was. Her Carol and I all hung out as we grew up. All tried to dance like Michael Jackson, and failed. There were four of us all together, and we were never apart until Brian…

"This is so unbelievable!" Carol interrupted my thoughts. "What are you doing here in Vegas?"

"Looking for work, which I'm glad I came here. I'm gonna work under you now, huh Lola?" she nudged me and I smiled.

"Yeah. Where are you living now?" I asked.

"Still looking," she sighed. "I just rented a place nearby. I pay month by month. That was my only option so I could look for a place while I work."

My mind started pondering. I glanced at Carol and assumed she was thinking the same thing I was. After a few minutes, some kind of commotion started in the entrance of my floor.

Tani, Carol and myself were still standing near the nurses station when Michael and Wade came running in. Both had spots of blood on their heads. Wade was holding an ice pack on his head and Michael had one on his forehead.

"Lola! Lola, we have a boo boo!" Wade yelled across the floor.

"Lola, sweetheart, kiss my boo boo and make it go away!" Michael cooed painfully.

Carol and I stared at them, looked at each other, and then put our heads down in shame. They were doing this on purpose. Oh were they ever going to pay for this! Tani stood confused, but shocked at the same time.

Oops, I forgot she had never met Michael Jackson in person, let alone even know I was married to the man. I had no idea if she had seen us in concert or read any of the tabloids on us.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed Michael by the collar of his shirt, Carol grabbed Wade in the same fashion and I motioned Tani to follow as we dragged them into a nearby exam room.

"Tani, would you please close the door and pull the curtain," I asked, noticing there were patients and other nurses coming out of exam rooms and staring at all of us, and at Michael. I pushed Michael against the bed and he grinned at me. "What are you doing here? Are you trying to embarrass me?"

"I don't know. Did it work?" he asked.

Carol shook her head as Wade asked the same question. "Hell no it didn't work! We don't get embarrassed, we just get pissed and then we get even. Right girls?" she asked both me and Tani. I nodded and Tani hesitated before nodding.

"Who is Tani?" Michael asked sweetly.

"Another one of my sisters. Not the point. Why are you here?"

"Well…"

"And how could you come up to my work like this? Are you trying to get me fired?"

"I…"

"And what the hell happened to your head?"

Michael stood and crushed me against his body and silenced me with a kiss. Everyone else simply froze and Tani gaped at us. She wasn't used to seeing me with any guy, especially someone like Michael Jackson, and kissing him no less. After a minute, he stepped back and I breathed in deeply before opening my eyes again. He smirked at me as he noticed all of the tenseness left my body the second his burning lips touched mine. He had that weird effect on me, and I hated it.

"I hate it when you do that," I growled.

"I had to do something to make you listen. I wasn't trying to get you fired. I knew you wouldn't since you practically own this place. I just wanted to get you back for your saran wrap attack from this morning."

I giggled at the memory and glanced at Carol. Her and Wade we making out in the corner and I glared at them. Michael glanced at Wade and rolled his eyes before he threw his shoe at him.

"Ow!" Wade rubbed his head. "Damn, man, you and Lola are like the same person. Lordy!"

Carol smirked at me and I smiled and we both backed away so the guys could explain what happened.

"Well you see, what had happened was…" Wade started in.

Michael rolled his eyes. "We invited the guys over for a little air soft action. Wade and I weren't paying as much attention as we should have been and we rounded the same tree and smacked right into each other," the both winced at the memory. "We're lucky he didn't break my nose," he touched his little nose and I giggled.

I glanced at Tani who hadn't said a word at all. "Hey, are you okay?"

She blinked twice and then nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?"

"You're never this quiet," Carol teased.

"And you never said hi to me," Wade pouted and Carol rolled her eyes at him.

"Or me," Michael sad sadly.

"Oh! I didn't mean to Mr. Jackson! I mean, hi! I mean….ohhhh Lola what do I mean?" she spoke frantically.

"Relax," I grabbed her shoulders. "Tell me you knew about me marrying him."

"Uh…yeah, I mean I heard but I was never positive it was you. I saw you dancing with him on my television. I guess I'm just in shock," she blushed lightly.

"It's okay. I know being around this apple-butt is a shocker at first, but he's easy to get used to. He's nothing but a big kid like our daughter," I nudged him.

"Hey! She's like me! Not the other way around!" he defended himself and then sat back on the bed. "And my butt has no resemblance to an apple," he grumbled quietly and I laughed.

Tani eventually got over the initial shock and helped me clean the guys and bandage them while Carol stepped out. She was gone for a while and I had no idea where she had gone until the end of my shift came. The three of us walked out to the parking lot and Michael and Wade were leaning against my car. I glanced at Wade's truck to see his tires were flat. I glanced at Carol and she looked away innocently.

The following day was Momma Katherine's birthday. The Jacksons never really celebrated birthdays, so they called it Katherine day. It meant the same to me. I invited the girls together and Michael's entire family came over for dinner. Before they all arrived, Michael made it a point to tell Wade, Carol and me that all pranks would be temporarily called off until after the family was gone.

During dinner, I noticed our nephew Taaj and Tani glancing at each other over the table and smiling. Michael had introduced everyone and Taaj really seemed to like Tani. By the looks of it, the feeling was mutual. I was glad for that. I knew what kind of guy Taaj was and he seemed like he would be a great guy for Tani. She had been with nothing but losers in the past, and she hardly dated at all. She was very picky about men.

Later that night, everyone spent the night and Michael and I went to our own bed after singing Neveah to sleep. Little Michael kept kicking me violently when I was in the shower. My grunts of pain brought Michael in to help me finish cleaning up. Once we got onto the bed, Michael rubbed my belly and put his head against it, singing softly to little Michael.

The kicking finally slowed and I fell asleep to the sound of Michael's angelic voice.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in my own nightmare.

_It was dark and I was standing outside my old home where I once lived with my brother, mother and my son Will. The lights were out in the windows and I glanced inside. Everything looked the same as it had when I left the day of Will's funeral. I walked inside and looked around. There wasn't a toy in sight. This is what it must have looked like after my mom got rid of Will's old toys._

_I heard silent sobbing coming from up the stairs and I followed them to my mother's room. She was sitting at the edge of the bed holding a picture of Will and myself and she was rocking back and forth, shaking uncontrollably._

'_Oh mom,' I spoke in my mind. I stepped forward and sat next to her as she cried._

"_I failed…I failed as a mother…I failed as a grandmother…what have I done?" she sobbed._

"_No….no you didn't fail. Don't say that," I spoke to her and she shook her head. I touched her cheek and my hand went through her face. I was like a spirit to her. She couldn't hear me. What was I thinking?_

"_Why did I say those things to you Lola? Why? It wasn't your fault….it wasn't your fault!" she cried._

"_I know it wasn't mom! You have to know that!" I yelled and she winced like she heard me._

"_I'm so sorry Lola," she whispered._

"_This wasn't your fault, mom. Someone convinced me of that, now why can't you believe it?"_

"_I wish I could just have a second chance…" she trailed off._

"_You can! I'm right here!"_

"_I wish….I wish…" she started gasping and she grabbed her chest._

"_Mom? Mom!" I yelled as she curled into a ball and gasped in pain. "Oh mom…don't do this!" I stood over her and tried to shake her as she grew still and her heart quit beating._

_That's right…she passed away. This must have been what happened the night she died. She was kicking herself for saying things out of her own grief to me that she didn't mean._

_I clenched my fists and tears slid down my face as I fell to my knees in front of my mother's body. "I'm sorry mom….I'm so sorry!"_

"Lola wake up sweetheart," Michael shook me awake and I sat up. He wiped the tears from my eyes as I told him about the dream. He sat there for a moment in deep thought. "Well, maybe this is a sign that you should go visit your mother's grave and make peace with her. It would do you some good, I think."

"I don't know…"

"Go ahead. Leave Neveah with me and take a few days off and go with the girls. Take a trip down memory lane while you're there. It's where you all grew up right?"

"Is…that what you would do if you were in my shoes?"

He glanced at my bare feet for a moment and held back from making a joke. "Yes. Even to this day, if my brothers and I ever had the chance to go visit Gary, Indiana, we would. Where you grew up is the place where you found out who you were."

"Are you sure?" I asked as I leaned against his shoulder.

He kissed my head and nodded. "Yes. In fact, it's a good thing for you girls to go. Wade and I were thinking of helping the guys set up their first show of their tour anyway. I think he'd have fun," he smiled.

"Yeah, I bet he would."

The following day, I told the girls about Michael's idea and they agreed without hesitation to go with me. Neveah wanted to stay behind anyway and play with her cousins and I took off a few days from work and we headed out the very next day.

We took Michael's new car. It was a small SUV, but it was fairly new and had nothing on it that screamed "Michael Jackson" so Michael of course insisted on it. I didn't argue. He was smart about what attracted the most attention and what people ignored.

When we arrived, we walked solemnly across the cemetery where my mother's grave sat. I paused when I crossed over my son's grave alongside my grandparents, and there, right next to Will, was my mother. I immediately fell to my knees in tears and the girls were on either side of me crying right along with me.

"Were you there?" I cried as I asked them. "Did you get to see her?"

"We came together to see how she was doing the day before she passed away," Carol spoke softly.

"She was happy to see all of us," Tani whispered.

"All of us?" I repeated.

"All of us…" another voice behind us spoke. We all turned around and saw the last girl of our sisterhood group standing there smiling weakly at us, a bouquet of yellow roses in her hand.

"Annie!" we all cried. She dropped the roses and we all embraced, now all of us crying like babies.

"What are you doing here?" I cried.

She wiped my eyes and then her own. "Just came to pay my respects," she smiled.

"I'm so glad you did," I smiled back. She placed the roses at my mother's grave and then took one rose and set it on Will's grave and then one on my grandparents'. We stood together, hand in hand, and walked over to "The Last Supper" and sat at the bench.

"We all came together to the funeral," Tani spoke after a minute.

"You…came?" I whispered. "I didn't see you."

"We were running a bit behind. We were there for the graveside ceremony. It was a lovely service," Carol said.

"Quite interesting to hear word that Michael Jackson was here. I didn't believe it at first until I remembered seeing the concert, and the wedding announcement," Annie grinned at me. "You lucky bitch," she teased.

"Yeah whatever," I smiled back. We caught up as much as we could before we heard a loud voice booming through the cemetery.

"Antoinette, you whore! Where are you? Come the hell on already!" A man's voice shouted.

Annie winced. "I better go. It was great seeing you all again," she stood briefly and I grabbed her arm to stop her and she winced in pain.

I looked at her arm and she covered it, but not before I could see a number of bruises on her arm and a few on her neck. I stared at her in shock as I noticed the heavy makeup on her face was covering a black eye. "Annie, who is he and what has he done to you?"

She looked away and Tani sighed. "Alex?" Annie nodded. "Still haven't gotten away from that jerk yet?"

"It's not like I have a choice…after my parents kicked me out, I have no where else to go…" she almost whimpered.

I clenched my teeth and Carol squeezed my hand. "Unbelievable. I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind…"

"Carol, please don't…" Annie begged.

"Antoinette, I said now!" he yelled again.

"Sorry, I gotta go." She hugged and kissed all of us before she ran out. We followed her out of the building and watched her open the passenger side door of the car. She looked back at us and gave us a weak smile before a large arm grabbed hers and dragged her into the car. He slapped her across the face and Carol jumped forward.

"Don't do it, he isn't worth it!" Tani scolded.

"But she is!" she yelled, holding back tears.

"If you go after him, she will end up paying for it later. Don't do it, Carol," I whispered, putting my hand on her shoulder. I thought for a moment. "Tani, you still have her number?"

"Yeah, why?"

"We will call her in a little bit and tell her to gather her things. We need to get ready, girls. It's time for a rescue mission," I said as I tensed up and put my hand over my belly.

Carol grinned and Tani nodded. They were already ready before I spoke the word. About a half hour later, Tani called Annie.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's your favorite sisters. Can you talk?" she asked.

"Not without being heard," she whispered.

"Bitch, where is my dinner?" Alex yelled in the background.

Tani gripped the phone and I put my hand on her shoulder. She sighed deeply. "Call us back the second you can be alone. Won't take very long I promise," she said.

"Okay," Annie said before hanging up.

As we waited for the call, we went through a Sonic drive through and got us all something to eat. I bought something for Annie too. I knew once we rescued her, she would agree to coming back to Vegas with us. As if on cue, she called back and Tani put the phone on speaker.

"Hey."

"Hey, okay I don't have long. He's eating his dinner. I told him I was taking out the garbage," she admitted quietly.

The girls looked at me and waited for me to speak. "Annie…pack your things. We are coming to get you. I'm not gonna stand by and let him beat you like this anymore."

Annie froze and then tears burned in her eyes. "You would do that? You would risk him seeing you and getting hurt?"

"You're family. Now go pack your things while he's busy and text Tani when you're ready. We will pull up so you can just run and jump in. He won't lay another hand on you again," I growled those last words.

"What if he comes after me when I come outside?" she asked nervously.

"Oh we will take care of that," Carol and Tani said in unison.

Annie giggled before she agreed and then hung up. Tani reminded me where she lived and I drove up the street and parked just out of sight from the house and we waited for the signal. The second the text came, I pulled up and Carol flung the door open.

Annie ran out and threw her bags in. Carol and Tani got out. As Annie threw her last bag in the back, Alex came out.

"What the hell? Who are you bitches?" he yelled. "And where the hell are you going? I didn't say you could leave!" he yelled at Annie and she winced.

I growled and yelled back. "We're her sisters and you have no right to her anymore. She's coming with us now, asshole!"

"You little bitch," he growled as he stepped forward toward the car. Carol suddenly appeared from the side of the porch and tripped him. She stomped on his head and ran to the car, pushing Annie inside. He got up again and Tani grabbed a shovel and smacked him over the back of the head.

"Next time you decide it's okay for you to hit a girl, make sure you know who the hell you're dealing with first," Tani snorted as she kicked dirt in his face and strutted to the car.

I rolled my eyes and turned around in the driveway.

"Ill get you, bitch! I got your license number. I'll come find you!"

"Oh, well by all means come on then," I smiled out my window. "I'm sure my husband, Michael Jackson, would be happy to kick your ass himself. Later!" I stepped on the gas. We all laughed at the shocked look on his face. "Do you think he believed me?" I asked as I pulled onto the highway.

"No doubt," Annie smirked. "He saw you guys dancing together and saw the wedding announcements too. He probably recognized you when you said Michael's name."

I shrugged and the girls laughed as we drove back home to Vegas. "So anyway, I'm sure Michael will have no problems taking you in, Annie. You either, Tani," I winked at them through the rear view mirror.

"I hope he likes me," Annie blushed.

"Oh he likes everyone. Just keep in mind he's nothing but a big kid," I shrugged. "And like I told Tannie, it's a shocker to be around him at first but he's easy to get used to."

"Until he pulls a prank on you. Then all you wanna do is get him back. Him and Wade," Carol snarled playfully.

"Wade's there too?" Annie asked.

We were all on the same page when it came to Wade. Other than Michael and my brothers, Wade was the only guy us girls could trust. We spilled out our guts to him when we needed to. He was like a big brother to us, well not to Carol because that would be gross, but to the rest of us he was like another part of our family.

When we finally got back, we all stepped out of the car and stretched. "So good to be home," I yawned.

It was just after sunset and the house was oddly silent. Carol and Tani glanced at each other as I opened the back for Annie to get her things out. We walked up to the door and opened it and stepped inside, hand in hand.

"Welcome home, Ann…" we all froze as a huge bucket of ice water fell from the top of the door and drenched all four of us. We all shrieked at the cold liquid against our skin and immediately huddled together.

"What the hell?" Annie shivered.

Seconds later, Michael came running down the slick floored hallway and slid into view and stopped. Right behind him, Wade slid right next to him and right behind Wade, Taaj slid in. They all froze and stared at the four of us before they started laughing.

"Michael…" I shivered angrily.

"Wade," Carol snarled at the same time.

"Taaj," Tani growled.

"Bastards better run," Annie gritted out.

The guys stopped for a minute, realizing now that they were outnumbered, and they took off running. We chased them around the house and out the back door. Carol caught up with Wade and tackled him into the pool. Tani did the same thing and Annie helped me corner Michael before the both of us tackled him into the pool.


	7. Chapter 7

The guys took off in a flash as me and the girls chased them through the house. We had the upper hand however. It was 4 against 3. I was glad Annie didn't seem as star struck as I thought she would be upon seeing Michael for the first time. Everyone seemed to split up at once and Annie particularly had something against Wade, so when he decided to split up with the guys and run out into the side yard, Carol and Annie went after him. Taaj rounded the hall and slid down the spinning staircase and Tani easily stayed on his heels. Michael however decided to run out into the back yard. I almost ran into the glass door as I gave chase, but I remained right on his trail.

We ran around in circles a few minutes before I began to sweat. "Michael, you are so dead when I get my hands on you!" I growled.

Michael gave me an innocent look and kept running. Within about 15 minutes, we were both drenched in sweat. Michael took his long sleeve shirt off, now leaving him in a plain white tank top and black pants, and he rubbed the sweat from his head with his shirt. I bit my lip and tried to ignore the sudden sexual attraction I had for him.

That took me by surprise. Since I had gotten pregnant with our second child, sex hadn't particularly been on our list. Before I had gotten pregnant, we were having sex at least twice a day, granted we had the opportunities to do so. Since I had conceived our son, even with the opportunity at hand, I never wanted to be touched sexually. In fact the only thing I ever wanted was just for Michael to hold me, which he had no problem with at all.

Apparently the look of attraction in my eyes surprised him as well and he smirked. I shook my head at his sudden height of his ego and went after him again. Michael scrambled and ran toward the pool and I found my opening and tackled him into the pool.

I laughed as he emerged with shock written all over his face. "Why must it always be the pool?" he grumbled.

"Oh come on, you're just mad because a pregnant woman got the better of you," I teased. He gave me a look and rolled his eyes.

"Yea, blah blah blah," he moved his hand like a talking person. "You have a booger hanging out of your nose, by the way." I rubbed my nose furiously and then glared at him when he laughed. He was playing me at my own game.

I rolled my eyes and splashed him before swimming to the opposite side of the pool. I looked at him through the corner of my eye to make sure he was paying attention. If he wanted to play games, I was certainly game.

I sensually lifted my dripping body out of the pool and stretched out on the concrete for a few seconds. Michael gulped as he watched me. He always told me even when I was pregnant with Neveah how gorgeous he thought I was, and I wasn't even showing that much now. Might as well have some fun with it.

I shivered on purpose and then looked over my shoulder at Michael, who still stood frozen in the shallow end of the pool. "Kind of chilly out here with wet clothes, huh?" I asked. He didn't answer and I looked away and slowly brought my shirt over my head.

I heard Michael stumbled in the water and smiled to myself. 'Gotcha.' I grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped it around my waist, leaving my back to him, and I slipped of my bra and my pants, and then ever so slowly, my panties fell down to my ankles. Michael stared at me, now only in a towel. My bare back shimmered in the moonlight and I pulled my hair back to ring it out.

"Michael, are you gonna come out of there or not?" I asked him innocently. When he didn't answer, I slowly turned and showed my top half to him. His eyes traveled down my body and up again before he smirked.

"Why do you do this to me?" he groaned.

"Do what? I didn't do anything."

Michael pointed his finger at my clothes now lying in a wet pile beside me. "Since when is that nothing?"

I glanced at the clothes and then back at him. "Since when is getting naked in front of my husband a crime?" I asked. He started to reply smugly until he saw the look on my face. I drew up my bottom lip and gave him the saddest look I could come up with. Unfortunately, my hormones liked to work with my expressions and real tears formed in my eyes.

Michael's eyes fell and he swam over to me. I sat down at the pools edge and let my feet float in the water. I didn't mean to really cry. I was simply trying to tease my husband, but now he thinks he hurt my feelings. 'Way to go Lola.'

"Baby, I didn't mean to upset you," he said softly. He moved his body between my legs and brushed a hair behind my ear. I had almost forgotten my top half was completely bare to him, that is until he pressed his bare chest against mine.

I drew in a deep breath and my eyes instinctively closed. I felt his breath on my lips and a warmth in my lower region. I hadn't had this feeling of need in so long, I almost forgot what it felt like.

"Hey, 2 on 1 isn't fair!" Wade's voice echoed from nearby. Michael jerked his head up and around, searching for him and he pulled me fully against him to hide my bare chest from view. He wasn't about to let anyone else see what belonged to him. I almost giggled at his actions.

I was so overtaken by hormones that not even Wade's voice stopped my powerful need for Michael. As he looked around, I leaned forward and nipped his neck. He gasped and tightened his hold on me. I smirked and licked his skin while moving my hands up and down his back. He was getting excited by the looks of it.

"Hang on…Lola…damn, wait a min…ohhh," he tried real hard to regain control, but mini-Mike wasn't about to let that happen. I felt his hardness press against my thigh and I let out a slow moan in his ear. In an instant, he pulled me up and pulled me into the pool house. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me around the house. The towel around my waist fell and he plopped me on the kitchen counter. Before I could say anything about the cold marble-top counter, he grasped my legs and slammed into me.

He had a lot of frustration to let out, and I knew he wasn't about to go easy on me. Not that I wanted him to. I forgot how good it felt to make love to Michael. He pulled my legs up on his shoulders and buried himself deeper into me and I let my head fall back and moaned louder. The sound of slapping skin and grunts and moans echoed through the pool house, but no one else knew we were in here, so we might as well enjoy ourselves.

"Give me more, Mike…ohh God please," I moaned. He stepped back and pulled me off the counter. Before I could even think, he spun me around and bent me over the counter and slid into me once more, putting all of him into me. He moved fast and I could have very easily left scratch marks in the counter. I had never experienced Michael moving this fast and rough before. He moved just a little longer before he froze, right as I came to my end, he came to his and we collapsed onto the counter. The cool top no longer bothering me.

"That's…what you get…for tackling me…into the pool…again," Michael panted against my back. I simply smiled. I could no longer argue with him. We waited for a few minutes before grabbing fresh towels and going back to the house. By the time we changed and came back to the living room, everyone was laying around the television.

"Hey, there you guys are," Carol sat up on the couch. Everyone looked in our direction and I almost blushed at the attention.

"Where have you guys been?" Tani asked.

Taaj nudged her. "I'll give you 3 guesses," Michael glared at him and he bit his lip when he saw the look. Everyone else simply laughed. We all settled down and watched a movie until we were too tired to function. It seemed quiet with Neveah not being here, but we knew she was safe spending the night elsewhere. It wasn't her first time spending the night away from home.

The first time was when she stayed with her Auntie Janet. She had a difficult time getting to sleep without the lullaby, so Michael thought ahead and recorded us singing it to her one night. I never even knew he did that until the day she came home and thanked him for making it.

The next morning, I headed into work and went about my normal duties, while trying to avoid talking too much with Tani. She really wanted to know more details about what went on the night before.

"Would you please just drop it?" I asked her as I moved around her to grab another patient's file.

"Why can't you just tell me? I mean come on, Lola. You guys disappeared for 2 hours!" Tani pestered me as she organized a few files on my desk for me.

I froze for a minute. "2 hours?" I hadn't realized we had been gone that long. I must have been so deep in my own euphoria to notice the time. "Hm." I grunted and went about my business. Tani followed.

"Wait, were you doing the nasty?" she asked after she glanced around to make sure no one was listening.

I almost dropped the file I had in my hands and I shook my head and grinned. "Tani, what do you think a married couple does in their spare time? Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I don't have needs every now and then, and ask for Mike…ugh! I am not having this conversation with you at work of all places! Go get Mrs. Jones file and check on her. She should be waking up from surgery soon."

Tani fought the redness that remained on her cheeks as she nodded and went back to my desk for the file.

_Meanwhile…_

A man stumbled into the emergency room of Progressive Hospital with a stab wound to the gut. He leaned on the front counter for support. "I need some help," he grunted.

The nurse at the desk stood up and called for a few nurses behind her, which he couldn't see. "What happened?" she asked as she moved forward to help him to a bed.

"I was jumped, and stabbed. Please, I need to see Lola Jackson," he struggled as he spoke. Another nurse nearby glanced at the man before looking at a male nurse. They knew they had to be very careful when random people came in asking for Lola. She was famous, after all. They all knew when it was a fan, paparazzi, or just an old friend they hadn't met.

"Mrs. Jackson doesn't work on the trauma floor, and that's where you will be," one of the nurses explained to him.

His eyes flashed angrily around the room. "What if I need her expertise? I am an old friend of her mother's. I came to see her when I was attacked. Please, just let me see her."

The male nurse narrowed his eyes at the man. "What is your name?"

"Jason."

A doctor came in shortly after and went to raise Jason's shirt. He flinched back and pushed away before the doctor could get a good look. "Sir, I need to inspect your wound so I can treat you."

"No, I need Lola. Get me Lola!" he growled.

The nurses looked at each other for a moment. "You said you're a friend of her mother's?" he nodded. "Did she tell you where Lola worked?"

Jason thought carefully for a moment before he nodded. "She sent me here. I was coming to surprise Lola. She's gonna die when she sees me."

A security guard stepped in a few seconds later and jerked Jason out of the bed by his arm. Jason yelled back as the doctor studied him. He noticed that Jason didn't favor his stomach where he was supposedly stabbed. Then he moved forward and pulled up his shirt in one quick movement, revealing no wound at all.

"Sir, what game is it that you are playing?" the doctor asked angrily.

"No games..." Jason growled back. "I was stabbed!"

"There is no wound. I don't know who you are, Jason, or where you came from. But you are no friend of Mrs. Jackson. If you were, you would've already known her mother died years ago. Now leave this hospital before I call the police."

Jason huffed and walked out, leaving all who witnessed the entire act staring in shock. The doctor shook his head. "Alright, false alarm. Back to work," the nurses followed his order and he pinched the bridge of his nose and glanced at his nurse. "What some people do to get close to celebrities…" the nurse nodded briefly.

Back outside, Jason punched the side of his truck in anger. He had a plan all figured out, but he never realized how protected this girl was. A couple of his friends pulled up beside him and parked.

"What's the deal, man?" one of them asked.

"She's too protected here. I don't know how to get close to her," Jason growled.

Another man stepped out of his car and leaned against it. "Why don't you just let it go? You know you're messing with the Jacksons, right?"

"Yeah, so what? If this is the only way to get Annie back…"

"Dude, we are talking about Lola Jackson. Michael Jackson's wife. You don't know who you're dealing with."

"Oh, come on. He's an old man now, what's he gonna do?"

"He's the King of Pop, Jason. Not to mention he comes from a very rough part of town and he was raised in a very protective family. Did you forget about Marcos and his gang being nearly beaten to death by his brothers? All because they trapped Lola inside of a burning barn, and that was all before she was pregnant and married. Think of what you're facing now."

"Are you gonna help me or do I need to take my business elsewhere? I could always keep the money, you know," Jason threatened.

The two Hispanic men thought it over. They had wives and children to take care of and they needed this extra money. As long as it meant not killing anyone, they would do whatever they had to do in order to support their families.

Just then, a taxi pulled up to the front and Jason recognized her immediately.

"Hey, isn't that Annie?" one man asked.

Jason ducked behind his truck as he watched the girl climb out and hand the driver some money before she turned to walk inside the hospital. "Yeah, that's her."

"So why don't you just grab her now while she's here? You wouldn't have to involve the Jacksons."

"I don't know why you are so afraid of Michael Jackson or his family. They are all old now. They aren't gonna do shit. Besides, I have a plan…"

_Back in the hospital…_

Annie walked up to the counter and the head security guard glanced at her with a smile. "Hey there, Annie. Got your pass right here," he slid her visitor pass across the counter as she signed her name in.

"Thanks Charlie," she winked before heading for the elevator. She got to the 6th floor and strolled up to my desk as I was clocking out.

"Hey Annie. Did you sleep good last night?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I slept soundly for the first time in years. I really owe you guys a lot for saving my ass. Only…" she bit her lip and glanced around nervously.

"Only what?" I asked as I put away a few files from my desk.

"Only I feel like it's not over yet."

"It is over. You don't have to deal with that jackass any longer. You have us to protect you."

"Yeah, but you don't know Jason like I do. He will never give up no matter who he hurts in the process…" she trailed off and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm being paranoid. Let's go get something to eat, shall we?"

I smiled and nodded. Tani opted to stay a few hours longer to even out her time for the week. She knew how to get back to the house and she had a phone, so if she needed a ride, she knew who to call. Annie and I headed out and walked to my car. She jumped into the SUV and glanced around once more. I could feel her nervousness and I cranked up some music.

Ironically my husband's music filled the car and we jammed out on the way to a restaurant. She seemed to relax after a while and we took a side road where there was less traffic. We came to a 4-way stop and I reached over to my purse which caused it to fall into the backseat floor.

"Shit, Annie, could you grab my phone for me? I'm gonna call home and see if anyone else wants something to eat."

Annie reached back for my phone as I moved through the intersection, going a little slower than normal. No one was behind us and I needed the time to call and get the order from everyone at home. As I looked up at Annie to grab my phone, her eyes looked behind me and grew wide.

"LOLA LOOK OUT!" she screamed and everything went black.

_Meanwhile…_

"Jason, man I don't know about this…" one of the men complained on the phone.

"Just shut up and don't lose sight of them. I have one shot at this and I am not gonna miss this time."

He remained parked half way between the hospital and Wonderland as he waited for his opportunity to strike. His friends were following Lola from a safe distance. When they spotted that she was on a more vacant road, they gave him the signal.

"No cars. She's coming up on 16th and Delaware. No oncoming cars either way and she seems to be going slow anyways."

"Got it. I'm about 2 blocks away. Keep watch for me because I will be jumping from the truck and I may need medical attention after this."

"You're jumping? Are you crazy?" one of them yelled.

"Yeah, I'm jumping. If I don't, then I will kill myself in the process and that doesn't work well with my goal at all, now does it?"

He sped toward the SUV. He set his steering wheel to aim straight for the driver's side door. He didn't want to hurt Annie, no, but he would be damned if he let that bitch get away with making a fool of him. Annie would learn her lesson and never leave him again. He tied the rope around the wheel and grabbed a wooden board from under his seat, propping it against the accelerator. When he was sure it would hit its target, he jumped and rolled into a nearby ditch. He barely had any scratches on him as he looked up. The truck sped on to about 45 mph and slammed directly into the SUV. Both cars spun at the sheer force and his truck landed in a crumbled heap of smoking metal a few feet from the now, overturned SUV.

He stood as his friends drove up and winced at the sight. He smirked and began to walk toward the wreck to claim his prize, when a few people came running to the scene. He froze and then backed away snarling. He would have to wait to get Annie. As one person pulled Annie from the car, she caught sight of Jason and he stumbled back before jumping into the car and his friends sped away in the opposite direction.

_Back in the car…_

The SUV had flipped a few times before coming to a stop and Annie lay there for a moment before opening her eyes.

"Damn," she grunted as she pulled her seatbelt loose. She looked down and noticed a piece of glass sticking out of her leg. She winced and then looked around and saw Lola. She was unconscious. Her head was lying to the side against the shattered window and blood was trickling down the side of her face. "Lola…?" she reached for her and tried to rouse her. She looked down and felt sick to her stomach. There was what looked like a piece of metal, or some kind of pole, sticking into the side of Lola's pregnant belly. When she moved it, she sighed in relief. It hadn't stabbed her, but there was a huge bruise on her side where it must have hit. Lola was breathing very lightly and her eyelids were moving around.

Annie's eyes grew wide as she remembered Lola's phone was nearby. She found it near what used to be the dashboard and dialed the first number on speed dial. She saw people approaching the wreck so she knew 911 was already called.

"Hey sweetheart," Michael answered. "I was beginning to worry. Where are you guys?"

"You have every right to worry," Annie choked on a sob.

"Annie, are you okay?" **(A/N: no pun intended) **"What happened?"

"We were in an accident. A bad one at that," Annie tried to breath slow.

"Are you guys hurt? Did you call for help? Where's Lola?"

"911 was alerted. I have glass sticking out of my leg and Lola, I don't know about her. I tried to wake her up, Michael, but she just won't. She's breathing but she's bleeding from her head."

"Where are you?"

"Uhh, 16th and Delaware. People are starting to try and get us out…"

"Stay calm. I'll be right there," Michael said and slammed the phone down. It didn't take them long to get to the wreckage. Wade and Carol could hardly breathe when they saw the sight. Michael stumbled out of his car before he even parked it and Wade had to stop it before it wrecked as well. "Oh my God…" Michael turned pale and almost forgot how to breathe.

Annie was dragged out by a fellow neighbor and another man was helping her stand, the glass still protruding from her leg. She had a blank stare in her eyes mixed with fear and anger. Michael ran to the wreckage as another man was head first inside the wreckage, already trying to rouse Lola.

"Please, move away," Michael calmly said to the man as he nudged his leg to get his attention. The man backed out, ready to argue with whoever stopped him from this rescue, but then paused as he realized who it was. "Thank you," he said weakly as he pulled off his over shirt, revealing his fully taped hands. He came prepared.

He moved in and once his face was hidden from everyone's sight, he let the tears flow freely. His wife lay there looking so helpless. She was bleeding from her head and her breathing was light. What frightened him even more was when he moved his hand over her belly and held it for a few minutes, only to feel nothing. Lola began to stir shortly after and Michael wiped his eyes, trying to remain strong for her. He didn't want to scare her.

"M…Michael? Where…what happened?" she stuttered.

"You were in an accident sweetheart. We are gonna get you out of here," he brushed her hair back as he looked for a way to release her without causing her more harm. One of the things he remembered Lola telling him was how careful they had to be when rescuing patients in these kinds of situations. One false move could cause more damage than there was already, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

In a matter of seconds, help arrived and Michael had to stand back after promising Lola he would be right next to her through the whole thing. He gritted his teeth as he heard her muffled moans and occasional screams of pain as they cut her from the wreckage. Annie glanced at Michael for the first time and tears fell slowly down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Michael."

Michael glanced at her surprised. "Don't be sorry. This wasn't your fault."

She looked at the ground as more tears fell. "Maybe it was, in a way…" she mumbled.

Michael furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but before he could ask her what she meant, the paramedics announced it was time to head out. He glanced at Carol and Wade for a moment. "Would you take care of Neveah for us? Don't tell her what happened just yet. And call my family when you can." They nodded and Michael gave them all a brief hug before jumping into the back of the ambulance. He grimaced at his surroundings. Never before had he been a passenger in the back of an ambulance. He had always been the one seeking medical attention. His fear switched to something different when Lola reached for his hand and clenched it tightly.

"Mike…I'm scared," Lola whispered, tears flowing freely down her face. The paramedics had already started an IV in her arm and she kept flinching with pain.

"I know baby, I'm right here with you," Michael rubbed her eyes for her and kissed the back of her hand.

Lola nodded before closing her eyes. At that moment, both she and Michael spoke a silent prayer together. Lola could have probably diagnosed herself if she was in her right mind, but she was also in shock. Her brain could have taken a pretty good blow from the way her head was bleeding.

A few hours later, everyone had finally settled down and Lola and Michael were left in a hospital bed. Lola was glancing at the x-rays on the wall. She didn't know how exactly she had done it, but her femur was broken completely in half. The biggest bone in the body and the hardest to break, and yet hers snapped like a twig. Her wrist was also broken in several places and required surgery to repair. She had no head trauma thankfully and had quite a few stitches in her head. That was the least of their concerns, however. There was only one more test they waited for results on.

The doctor finally walked in and looked over a few things. Lola and Michael watched him without making a sound, both fearing what he might say.

"We will have you in surgery first thing in the morning, Mrs. Jackson," he said softly.

"Thanks, Rick," fortunately, Lola knew every doctor in this hospital. "What of the baby? Do you have any news?"

He shook his head. "Dr. Richtor is on the way with the results."

They both nodded and he left, leaving them in an uncomfortable silence. Fortunately it was only 5 minutes later when Dr. Richtor came in. Lola sat up immediately and hugged her OBGYN and long time friend. She lay back on the bed and Michael took both of her hands in his, awaiting the news they had been waiting for since the accident.

"Dr. Richtor…the baby…?" Lola asked.

She stiffened for a moment and glanced down at her chart once more before bringing glossy eyes to meet Lola's. She sighed and shook her head sadly. "I'm so sorry, Lola."

Lola immediately started crying and Michael pulled her against him as fully as he could without hurting her, letting his own sorrow out. Never before had Michael experienced something this painful. Breaking his back, and his nose, all the accidents he has ever had in his career was nothing compared to the loss of his child.

Dr. Richtor cried with them and embraced them both before she had to get a hold of herself and go back to work, leaving the Jackson couple alone to mourn the loss of their baby.

Deep down, Lola knew what the next step was and she was terrified to allow Michael to be around to witness it. Having to birth the now lifeless child would be the hardest thing next to losing her first son. She wasn't about to ask Michael to leave, however. She didn't have the heart to do this alone, or make him suffer alone.

They had been through hell and back and survived it because they were together. Every obstacle they went through only made them stronger. They mourned together in that room, but also grew a little calmer, knowing they would get through this together.


	8. Chapter 8

I sat in the bedroom looking out the window. My knees were pulled tightly to my chest now that my stomach was flat once again. Not that I had much exercise. I was only thin now because I wouldn't eat. I didn't know what to think. I felt so numb. I lost a second child because I wasn't paying attention. I knew I was being a bit selfish though. I wasn't the only one hurting. Michael's heart was just as fragile as mine and yet I haven't seen him shed one tear since the night we lost the baby.

I knew why though. He was being strong for his family. For me, for Neveah, and for the rest of his family. I had a connection with my husband and I felt his pain, just as he felt mine. I couldn't ask for a better man. He kept everyone away from me when I needed to be alone, and after putting our daughter to bed, he would pick me up from my chair and tuck me in and hold me until he fell asleep. I was in more of an altered state of awareness, so to speak.

I was aware of everything going on around me, the people who came in and spoke to me, but I had the inability to feel. When Michael wasn't around, I began to feel a large amount of pain. It wasn't necessarily in my heart, but in my chest and ribs, and my stomach. I didn't really know what it meant, but I knew I needed to find a way to get some pain medication.

"Lola?" Annie walked in and sat beside me. "Are you okay?"

I hadn't seen Annie since the accident. She had been keeping to herself. I knew why. The night of the accident, I heard her mention that crazy ex of hers. He had been the one to crash his car into us that day, and she blamed herself for what happened. I remained staring blankly out the window and simply nodded once. That was all I could do. I didn't have a voice.

One by one, family and friends would come in and try to get me to talk, but each time all they received was a nod or a shake of my head. Honestly I wasn't sure I knew how to speak. I hadn't said a word in 2 months now.

"You must eat something," Kai begged me. "If you don't, you will have to go to the hospital."

Suddenly, the pain came back and I winced and wrapped one arm around my torso, doubling over and hitting my knees on the ground. I knew now maybe a hospital was the best place for me. Neveah wouldn't have to see me like this and I could get some help with this pain.

Kai leaned down and put her hands on my shoulders. "Lola, what is it? Talk to me!" she begged. "Do I need to call an ambulance?"

I shook my head and pointed to my wedding ring. My only chance at anyone knowing what I needed was Michael. He could read my eyes, he knew me better than my own mother did.

"Your ring?" she asked. I pointed at it again and then to my heart, then pointed outside where Michael and Neveah were running around with some of the children in our family. "Michael?" she asked and I nodded and pointed to the door. "Okay, I will go get him."

She ran out the door and I fell to my side writhing in pain. If anyone knew what to do in a situation like this, it would be Michael. Kai dashed down the stairs, nearly tripping over her own feet and bolted outside. "Mr. Jackson!" she yelled frantically. Michael's head jerked up at the sound of his name and he excused himself from the game before walking up to Kai.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Lola…" she breathed.

Michael's eyes widened. "What's wrong?"

"She's on the floor, I don't know what's wrong She wants you," she said nervously.

"Keep the children busy and away from the house," he said before running inside. He tracked up the stairs, skipping every other step before flying through the bedroom door. He slid on his knees beside me and picked me up in his arms. "Lola, honey what's wrong?"

He pushed my hair out of my face and felt my forehead. I simply winced and tears began to gather in the corners of my eyes. I patted my chest where it hurt and whimpered. Michael cradled me as he tried to figure out what to do. I cringed and forced out some words for him. "_Pain…Mike…bad pain…hospital…medicine…help," _I gritted out. His eyes widened a bit when he heard me speak and then he nodded.

"Okay, I'll drive you myself," he said before wrapping me in a blanket and carrying me down the stairs.

"Hey, what's going on?" Wade said from the bottom of the staircase.

"She's very sick, Wade. I have to take her to the hospital."

"Want me to drive?" he asked. He followed Michael out to his car and attempted to lower me into the back seat. When he tried to let go, I clenched his shirt tightly. He made some of the pain bearable. All I wanted at this point was to be close to him.

Michael's eyes grew soft and he kissed me lightly. "Yes, Wade. Just hurry," he said, not looking away from me. He tossed the keys to Wade and slid in the seat next to me, pulling me back into his lap. I curled up against him and buried my face into the crook of his neck and winced as another wave of pain hit. I whimpered and Michael rubbed my back softly. "We're going to get you some help," he whispered.

When we pulled up to the Emergency Room doors, Michael instructed Wade to walk in and tell the nurse who he was and who he had with him. As he did so, security showed up and escorted us into the hospital. I was immediately taken back and put in a hospital bed.

One of the doctors I worked with came in as the nurses were taking my vitals. Carol had arrived along with Annie and they each had a hand on me, providing me with comfort. Michael never let go of my hand and Wade stood by the door on guard. Tani walked in with a somber look as she stuck a needle in my arm to collect my blood.

"What's going on with you, Lola? You look horrible," the doctor said. He moved his head around to put himself in my line of vision and I simply stared past him with a blank expression.

"She has been this way since the accident," Michael answered for me. "Ever since we brought her home from the hospital, she has been in this altered state. She hasn't spoken a word or hardly eaten at all, and I brought her in when I found her on the ground in pain."

"Where is the pain, Lola?" he asked. I patted my chest and slid my hand down my torso. As my hand hit my lower abdomen, fresh tears slid down my face. I wanted my baby back so bad.

Michael wiped the tears away and bit his lip. "She needs help," he whispered.

The doctor nodded and asked everyone but Michael to leave. I was stripped down to my panties and placed in a gown and the doctor examined me. He ran a series of tests and ordered quite a few scans. The last of the tests included an ultrasound and I looked away from the screen as the image appeared. Once I was brought back, the doctor had given me a good dose of morphine and the pain finally subsided. After a few moments, I was left in the room with Michael.

I chanced a glance at him after a while of silence. His elbows were resting on his knees with his fingers laced together under his chin. I wondered what was going through his mind. I swallowed hard and reached for him. He instinctively scooted closer to me and took my hand. His eyes were glossy and he seemed to be holding back. I reached up and touched his face and he closed his eyes for a moment.

"I'm sorry…" my voice cracked.

"Don't be. You did nothing wrong," he said, putting his hand on my face.

"I feel…I…" I coughed a little and closed my eyes, feeling the strong effects of the morphine. Michael looked away. He didn't like medication that made anyone loopy.

Finally the doctor walked in and told us to go home while we awaited test results. On our way out, Michael stopped to go to the bathroom and I walked up to Tani. She smiled weakly at me and handed me a white bag that held a few vials of morphine and a few syringes and needles. The doctor had given permission to give me these supplies, but they were for emergencies only. He made that very clear to Michael.

"If she needs a dose, please tell me and I will give it to her myself," Tani said to Michael. He nodded and helped me out the door and we headed back home.

"How is she?" Jermaine asked Michael once I was in bed. They sat in the den together once everyone had turned in for the night.

"I wish I knew," Michael said. "I know she's upset, but I wish I knew why she turned into a zombie, you know?"

"I know. And I know it's hard for you, but it was also hard for her when you did this years ago, if you recall," Jermaine said.

Michael looked up at him and nodded. "I was also under a few medications. She hasn't taken anything and she barely speaks."

Jermaine watched his brother with sad eyes as Michael paced the room. "Mike, have you and Lola talked about…you know…the baby?"

Michael stopped in his tracks and looked down. "No."

"Not even when it happened?"

Michael thought for a moment. "All we did was hold each other and cry. After that, she went into the state she's in now."

"Have you talked to anyone about this? How you feel?"

"I…no, I'm fine. Look, this isn't about me…"

"Yes it is. It is just as much about you as it is about her," he said firmly. By then, Tito, Jackie, Marlon and Randy had stepped in to join the conversation.

"She needs you, Mike. And you need her. You two have always worked best as a whole. That's what a marriage is all about," Tito said.

"I know, but how I feel won't help…" Michael said.

"You're wrong again, brother," Jackie interrupted.

"You need to let your guard down and open up," Marlon added.

Jermaine nodded. "This is eating you alive, I can see it. We can all see it."

"There is nothing…"

"No lies, my son," Katherine walked in with a somber look on her face. Michael's eyes welled up and he looked away. "Don't fight it, Michael. We are your family and we know you are in pain. How can you expect to help your wife if you cannot help yourself first?"

There was a long pause and everyone kept their eyes on Michael. Finally, he began to shake. His head was down with his long hair covering his face. He braced the mantle above the fireplace and sniffed. He was crying now.

"I…I held him. I held little Michael after they got him out. He…he was so little…so innocent…it just…it wasn't right!" he choked on sobs and finally fell to his knees. His hands were over his eyes and he openly cried. His walls finally broke.

His family immediately surrounded him and embraced him together and they cried together. As Michael's sobs grew more quiet, the only thing heard was quiet comments from his family that it wasn't his fault.

Deep down, Michael knew that. He just wished he knew how to bring his wife out of the state she was in. She needed to open up too. She was always the one to coach him and help him to do the right thing, and now it was his turn to help her.

_A few days later…_

The children were at school and Michael was in the recording studio with Frank, his manager, and his friend, Usher. Kai was inside the house watching over everything. Wade and Carol had gone grocery shopping, Tani was working late and Annie was out taking a walk with T.J., who was told to protect her under any circumstances.

I sat in my lonely chair in deep thought. I needed to find a way out of this state. I felt imprisoned in my own body. The worst feeling I had was almost like a phantom baby inside my stomach. Sometimes I swore I still felt the baby kicking and I would place my hand over it, just to feel it. Once my hand hit a flat surface, the pain would come back. Tani had come by every other day to see how my pain was. She had only given me morphine three times in the last five days.

I missed my old self. I missed being a mother to Neveah, and a wife to Michael. I missed our family and chasing everyone outside during the summer. I missed the pranks I shared with my friends that now lived with us. I knew I was only doing this to myself. I was hurting everyone I loved in the process. I closed my eyes and stood up. This was going to end.

As I stood, pain hit full force and I hit the ground. I writhed in pain and screamed through gritted teeth, though my voice wasn't very strong due to little use. I looked toward the bedroom door and noticed the white back on the table by the bed. I dragged my way toward it and rolled to my side, knocking the table over the top of me and catching the bag. I dug through it and pulled on the tourniquet with my teeth. I filled the syringe and angled the needle to my arm.

Something in the back of my mind held me back. This wasn't what I was supposed to do. I knew the risks I was taking and I had a feeling the amount I had in the syringe was a very dangerous amount. The pain was unbearable and I continued to fight. Finally, Neveah walked in and gripped the doorknob.

"Mommy!" she yelped when she saw me.

I fought back the urge to stab myself with the needle and my body curled from the pain. _"Get…dad…FAST" _I growled out. Neveah blinked as tears streamed down her face and she took off running. I continued to fight with myself as I heard her yelling for Michael in the distance.

Moments later, footsteps came fast and the needle had just penetrated my skin. Michael, followed by Usher ran in and Michael smacked the needle from my hand. The needle scraped across my skin, leaving a pretty good sized cut across my arm.

"What are you trying to do, kill yourself?" Michael yelled as he leaned over me.

I winced and Usher walked forward and put his hand on Michael's shoulder. "Mike…" then he looked down at me and Michael looked at me as well.

"_Thank…you…" _I gritted out as I passed out. I was taken back to the hospital shortly after that and given more pain medication. The doctor came in shortly after as I was sleeping. I could barely make out what he was saying.

"Mr. Jackson, it would seem Lola has some cancer cells in her uterus. I'm afraid we are going to have to remove it," he said.

I groaned and Michael squeezed my hand. "If you didn't, what would that mean?" he asked. He knew the answer, but he wanted me to hear it myself.

"She would die," he said simply.

I hesitated and looked at Michael and he nodded. I nodded after that and was sent to surgery about an hour later. I knew what this meant. No more chance at having children. I didn't know what to make of all this.

A few days later, I sat in my hospital bed, unmoving, back in my state, only this time there was no pain. In the few weeks I had been here, a little boy had found his way into my room shortly after visiting hours were over. He was in a room down the hall from mine, and to my knowledge, he didn't have any visitors.

He was very cute. He was about six or seven years old with long black hair and dark eyebrows. Honestly, in my opinion, he looked a lot like my husband. He soon became my regular visitor at night when no one else was around. We sat up and he colored with me and he read to me. It wasn't too long before I had my old voice back. This child had me feeling almost like my old self again.

"Michael, come back to your room. It's almost time for you to go," a nurse said.

He looked down and then hugged me. "I'm gonna miss you, Lola."

I couldn't help but feel something was off. My husband soon walked in after the boy had gone back to his room. I had mentioned this boy to him before and now for some reason, I felt like I needed to do something.

"No one ever came to visit him while he was here. Something isn't right, Mike," I told him.

He leaned in the doorway and looked down the hall. "Let me go see what I can find out," he said and then walked out.

Moments later, he came back with a sad look on his face. "What?" I asked as I sat up.

"He's an orphan," he said sadly. "He doesn't know who his parents are. That nurse told me he was found in an alley as a baby and taken to the orphanage. According to her, he had been adopted out a few times but they gave him back when he refused to speak. He also refused to cut his hair."

"I don't see why he would need to. His hair is so cute," I said. I chewed on my lip. "He was very sweet to me. He is very smart too," I paused and Michael's eyes lit up. I smiled weakly at him. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Michael nodded and kissed me before running out the door to chase down the lady from the orphanage. "Miss, can my wife and I speak to you and the little guy for a moment?" he asked. Little Michael stared up at Mike with big eyes and walked close by his side back to my room.

Little Michael sat up in my bed with me as Michael stood in the corner with the woman. "Are you sure you want to do this, Mr. Jackson?" she asked. "Mrs. Jackson?" We both nodded and I played with the boy's hair.

"Okay. Let me get the paperwork filled out for you and he is all yours," she said with a smile.

"Yay!" Little Michael jumped up and jumped into Michael's arms, hugging him tightly. Michael picked him up and spun him as he laughed. He sat down on the bed with me and we all hugged each other.

Michael kissed my forehead. "I'm glad to see you're back to your old self."

"Me too. Now we can get back to being a family," I said and then added, "just a slightly larger one now."


End file.
